Time to Consider
by Callisto5
Summary: Once you eliminate the impossible, whatever remains, no matter how improbable, must be the truth. Sherlock Holmes
1. Default Chapter

**Disclaimer: **The following story is based on characters from the Pretender series. No copyright infringement is meant and no money is being made.

**Author's note: **This story is a follow-up sequel for Opportunities. It is a stand-alone piece with references to the previous story. It's a bit different from what I usually write, so I hope that everyone who reads this truly enjoys it.

**Time to Consider**

**By Callisto**

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**Plata Warehouse District  
****Buenos Aires, Argentina  
  
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A bright spotlight illuminated the small area of workspace where he was studying. For a nineteen year-old university student he took his work far too seriously. The bespeckled young scientist looked like a too-old cast off from a Harry Potter open audition. Checking his findings, Norwood knew he finally hit pay dirt. This time his theories were more than that; they were tangible—solid even. As if to prove his diligence, he went over the mathematics of his creation once again. He glanced up distractedly and stared through the inky blackness of the warehouse at the massive machinery he had built with his own hands. It had taken all of his considerable yearly trust fund allowance and all the money he could borrow from his few, though equally affluent, friends. With any luck, his invention would make him famous and put him in the company of men who had spent all of their numerous years to reach this pinnacle. An avariciously, greedy smile graced his boyish face as he leaned over and ran through the initial safety checks before his latest, and in his good opinion, most successful test run yet. 'This is for every professor who claimed my theories were nothing more than petulant science fiction.'

* * *

He had stayed too long. An unforeseen problem had cropped up while he was finishing packing up the remnants of his recently concluded pretend and putting the finishing touches on the latest souvenir/clue for Miss Parker. When he was able to finally usher his last student on his way, Jarod looked around a last time to make sure he was leaving nothing of any real importance behind. 

Once satisfied, he picked up his bag, left his clue and looked outside his office door to find Parker wandering through the warren of offices towards his own. Always one to have another way out, Jarod quickly slipped into the closet in his office, lifted the ceiling tiles, hoisted himself upwards and crawled through the opening, carefully replacing the tiles as he left.

Lately, he made sure she had to travel far and wide to keep up with him. He had to allow these close brushes in order to keep her running after him. Now, it had become more important than ever. He had learned to trust Ethan's instincts and his fears for Parker's safety were verified after he randomly called Sydney. The psychiatrist had informed Jarod of Raines' increasing hostility, thinly veiled impatience and deteriorating tolerance for Parker. Subsequent communications with Sydney confirmed the worse. Parker had very little time left before Raines made an overt move against her. Her father's allies had their own survival to consider in light of the power shuffle, leaving her vulnerable. Given the shift in personnel assignments since Jarod started their globe trekking, the odds of her continued existence shank to dim. Both Sydney and Broots had been reassigned to assist Lyle in his efforts to track Jarod down. So far, the only clues were left specifically for Parker to find and forward, necessitating her continued absence.

Parker heard a noise coming from one of the nearby offices and approached with extreme caution. There were still a number of students and faculty milling around, which caused her to exercise more caution than she typically used. Her two personal sweepers had been stationed at the front and rear of the building, but she knew Jarod would find it quite easy to get past them. Recent events at the Centre made her less than enthusiastic to return to the old homestead and the animosity between herself and Raines continued to escalate. Apparently Jarod had been made aware of the conflict or he wouldn't have left clues to his next pretend behind for her to decipher and follow up on. So far he had dragged her from Singapore to Bangladesh and then from Morocco to Argentina. The last time she had spoken to him was after Ethan's childishly easy taste test. Her heart whispered that his continued avoidance in returning to the U.S. was aimed at keeping her safe but she kept telling herself that he was really doing this for their little brother. She still had a bone to pick with Ethan over that stunt he and Jarod had pulled on her over a month ago. Jarod was kidding himself if he thought for one moment she fell for that load of crap about shoving Ethan aside to kiss her. It seemed all Jarod's actions were designed to irritate her—which they did or to get a reaction—which she had, though not the one _she_ expected. Ethan, on the other hand, did little to hide his anxiety and tried to encourage her to leave but with her two minders/sweepers, taking a permanent vacation was unthinkable and going on the run for the rest of her life—unfathomable.

Cautiously entering an empty office, Parker glanced around and saw no other avenues of exit. She was about to leave when she noticed a flash of white on the chair. Reaching out, she touched the worn leather backrest and found it still held the body heat of the previous occupant. There on the seat was a neatly folded article of clothing. Her gloved hand reached out and gingerly lifted one corner of the cloth. It turned out to be an extraordinary dress, with an intricately stitched bodice made completely of lace. One of Jarod's inane notes fluttered to the floor. She picked it up without reading it. He left it for the morons back at the Centre to figure out, she already knew where he would be headed next—Ireland. The hairs on the back of her neck stood up as the whispers in her mind floated to her consciousness unbidden. Jarod was in trouble and headed towards the main plaza. She stuffed his note in her pocket and bundled the dress under her arm as she ran for the exit.

It took longer than he anticipated but his contingency plan worked perfectly. Climbing out of the air duct and exiting through a rarely used door, Jarod smiled happily. He hoped she liked the dress, though the clue was pathetically easy to figure out. He was walking away nonchalantly when one of Parker's sweepers spotted him. Usually, Centre sweepers were obedient and thickheaded. This one was definitely not the latter. Jarod sprinted away when he heard the unmistakable sound of a bullet whizzing by his ear. A jumble of thoughts coursed through his mind as his excellently honed instincts took over. Without thinking, he veered into a crowd of people, weaving and occasionally shoving them aside. Colorful language followed behind him along with the sweeper who wasn't bothering to be as polite as the pretender. When a clear shot presented itself, the sweeper stopped and lined up his target. Just as he was gently squeezing the trigger, a heavy object connected with the back of his head. Parker shoved the sweeper down and kicked his weapon away from his unconscious hand. The butt of her 9mm had done wonders for him and should teach him some manners. Looking down, she frowned thoughtfully; oblivious to the shouts and applause from the onlookers who surrounded her.

Finally glancing up, she noticed Jarod looking back at her curiously. She had never authorized deadly force; in fact she had been quite explicit that Jarod not be shot. Karl was obviously taking orders from someone else. The whispers in her mind were still in those few moments. When she returned her gaze to Jarod, she noticed him smile, then run off. It was then she encountered an agonizing pain, as though a skewer had been shoved through her temples. The voices had unexpectedly risen in volume 20 fold and a bright light temporarily blinded her. She ducked her head and held it between her hands. Tears were beginning to prick at her eyes when she started in a stumbling run in the direction Jarod had just taken.

He paused and looked around peculiarly. Not a single building, nor the street he was on appeared familiar. It seemed after he had jumped from the slow moving cable car, that in his haste, he inadvertently ran into a district of abandoned buildings and warehouses. No one else was on the street with him, when he saw an interesting prospect. A large warehouse, in obvious disuse loomed before him. This would be the place where he would crash for the night before he boarded the train to the airport and Ireland. In the near distance, he heard running footsteps behind him. Incredulous that she had followed him this far, Jarod, barely winded, jogged the rest of the way to the warehouse. He found an open window and slipped inside silently. He was certain Parker wouldn't find him amongst the numerous identically dilapidated buildings on the street.

The closer she got, the quieter and more persistent the voices. Parker resolved that the next time she saw Ethan, she would ask him if this is what he went through on a regular basis. At a quiet, dark corner, she paused. Not another soul was out on a street that looked like a rundown warehouse district. One building was much like the other and she had no idea which one Jarod chose. Turning completely around, Parker felt not only at a loss but thoroughly lost. Her eyes settled on a non-descript building in the middle of the block as a soft voice in her head quietly said, "Yes."

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Norwood was ready. Hours earlier he had injected his subject with an inhibiting isotope. Now, he placed the test subject in the middle of the containment field. The block, which usually was sufficiently lit, had been nearly drained of power by his machine. A thread of uneasy anticipation coursed through his reedy body as he paused dramatically over the switch. Once the sequence was started there was no going back. With a flair appropriate for the occasion, he pressed the 'Enter' key to begin the cycle. Just as he was doing this he heard a noise from one of the windows nearby. 

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She found the window he had entered and climbed through. A small, rickety pile of pallets was under the window and shifted slightly under her unbalanced weight. The sound was very small, but in such a large, empty space it seemed louder than a firecracker in church. A sudden deafening hum of machinery started almost at the same time, and she hoped it covered her less than graceful entrance. A spark of electricity arced, momentarily flooding the entire floor with light. Parker looked ahead and saw Jarod standing only a few feet in front of her. Distractedly, he turned to find Parker near him. He was curious about the loud electrical hum but after her sweeper shot at him, he wasn't in the mood for taking any chances. In a rush, he ran towards the source of the noise as the wall of sound started to crescendo. Instinctively, he wanted to be as far away from the sound as possible as he attempted to change direction.

Parker was right on his heels as a brilliant light enveloped Jarod. She skidded to a stop; her leather boot accidentally kicked over what appeared to be a specimen jar containing a tiny tree frog. The frog hopped out of his broken container and in a few energetic leaps landed on her foot. She looked up to see Jarod disappear right before her eyes; in the next instant everything went dark.

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Norwood had looked towards the source of the sound when the sequence first began. The new not-yet-on-the-market processors he had put in his computers had worked wonders. What normally would take 5 minutes only took seconds. He looked away and put on his specially darkened goggles to protect his eyes, however the electrical discharge was much greater than he had anticipated. He was obliged to cover his head, then as suddenly as it started, his machine slowly revolved to a stop. He checked the readings and was immediately puzzled. This display indicated that two very large items were transported and not just a single small one. Scratching his arm nervously, he rechecked the mathematical parameters and got the same result. Finally he looked towards the area where the embodiment of his genius opened the temporal portal. Nothing was left except a few shards of glass from the broken specimen bottle. The frog was nowhere in sight. A deep despair gripped at his heart as he concluded that this was yet another failure. It would take Norwood several days before he came to realize that his last trial had been a thumping success. The only hitch being that a chain reaction of the key components for the intiating sequence had burned out because of the unexpected load placed on it by a couple of unknown stowaways.


	2. I must be dreaming

**Disclaimer:** See Chapter 1 please.  
**Author's note: **This chapter is devoid of certain explanations purposely. I hope all who read it, will enjoy.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 2  
****By Callisto  
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**Abernathy Residence  
****Hickory, IN**

Everything was spinning. He hadn't opened his eyes yet but the world was topsy turvey and all he wanted was to get off. Opening his eyes only made matters worse. Taking a deep breath and squinting drunkenly at the ceiling, he concentrated on a single spot. Gradually, his equilibrium returned causing him to sigh deeply, if not carefully. This feeling of calm lasted only a few seconds. He opened his eyes again to find he was in a warm, homey room, lying on what appeared to be a couch. A sudden fear clutched at him as he thought Parker had finally caught him and he was currently under guard at one of the Centre's numerous safe houses. Slowly, he worked saliva into his very dry mouth and peered around, mindful that his vertigo could return in retaliation for his lack of care. From the looks of it, he was alone in a room that appeared on the surface to be conventional but there was something out of place about it. He tried to put his finger on it but it kept eluding him. The sound of footsteps approaching caused a knot of fear to solidify in his belly. He could try to bolt for freedom, though he felt the effort would most likely be fruitless. Parker wasn't sloppy like her twin, Lyle and would have sweepers stationed at each exit. Despite his predicament he discovered he was hungry and hoped he would be able to get something to eat while trying to convince her not to return him.

She strolled through the door as if there wasn't a pressing care in the world. Without breaking her stride, she glanced at him, smiled and nonchalantly passed him by on her way to the kitchen. The shock he felt reflected brilliantly on his face making her casual reaction all the more puzzling. His eyes followed her every movement, transfixed by this waking vision. Internally, Jarod thoughts ranged from believing he was dreaming, thinking this was some kind of bizarre hoax dreamt up by the Centre in an effort to get him to cooperate, to the belief that somehow she had found him but wasn't fully aware of his identity. The emotionally beleaguered soul on the couch was about to receive another shock. Through the same door the woman had breezed into his life, yet another came rolling through as if it were the most natural thing for him to do.

The young man was following in the woman's footsteps when he called out to her in a teenaged-deepened voice, "Hey, are you making breakfast now? 'Cause I'm starved. Well, we both are." The boy looked at Jarod and offered a friendly smile as he passed by and remarked with caustic humor, "You should close your mouth there Jarod. Looks like your trying to catch something that shouldn't be caught."

Slowly Jarod got up and looked at the other two. Their backs were to him as they chatted and lightly disputed the other's idea of what breakfast should be. As though his feet were made of concrete, he approached them in the kitchen. The boy looked up for a second before returning to what he was doing. The woman didn't pay him any attention at all; she was too busy scrambling what appeared to be a dozen eggs. When she put the bowl down, Jarod slid up to her and wrapped her in a bone- crushing embrace. Nonplussed by this unaccustomed display of affection, the woman started swatting at him to let her go, though it was done laughingly. Jarod refused and whispered softly in her thick, red ponytail, "I love you, Mom."

"I love you too, honey. Now let me go, please. Are you feeling all right? What exactly were you and your friends doing last night? I assume beer played a large role," she asked inquisitively as she turned on the stove and placed a few pans on top of their burners.

"Last night?" Jarod thought for a few seconds when the whole scene between him and Parker slid effortlessly into place in his mind. "I was in a warehouse and there was someone chasing me," he began.

"Chasing you? Bro' I think you have it the other way around. You were probably chasing after Asia Kraemer but she wasn't having any, as usual," the boy stated firmly.

"Kyle, leave your brother alone. Jarod, you look like you've had a rough night. I realize that your friends want to show you a good time before you leave, but obviously you boys went too far," Margaret lectured. "Hand me that package of sausages." Jarod looked at where she was pointing and handed her a defrosted pack of uncooked sausages, which she emptied into one of the skillets and started seasoning. Noticing the hungry look appear on her eldest son's face, she continued in a sterner voice, calculated out of practice, to get him moving, "Go wash up, Jay and while you're at it go up and tell your father and sister that breakfast will be ready in 10 minutes."

Jarod knew an order when he heard one. He left the kitchen and followed her orders, though haltingly. In his mind, he settled on the notion that this was some sort of wishful dream he was living through. Shrugging, he decided this was far better than the reality he last remembered.

Once inside the upstairs restroom, and recovering from the shock of seeing his father with completely dark hair, except some gray at the temples and a pre-teen Emily who answered him in an irritated mumble, the final shock occurred after he closed and locked the door to the bathroom.

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Ferrer Residence  
****Mar Azul, Portugal  
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Welcome sounds from a lifetime ago wafted dreamily into her consciousness. A large and satisfied yawn preceded her opening her eyes. The second she did, she regretted it. The walls in the room began to spin crazily. Closing her eyes and slowing her breathing, she sought to control the dizziness, dreading the emergence of the headache that usually followed and introducing a hangover. Slowly reopening her eyes, her head began to pound and the world started twirling again. Staring up at the ceiling, she concentrated on a point in the faded paint until the spinning finally stopped. Relived, she looked around. There was nothing familiar about her immediate surroundings and listening more carefully, she realized that she was no longer in Buenos Aires—the language was different, slightly more melodic, to her ears anyway. Frowning her shrug, she slowly came to a seated position. The room obviously belonged to somebody's teenaged daughter. There were tasteful posters adorning the walls and a pink, frilly stole had been artfully draped across a chair on which sat a large, stuffed toy rabbit.

After a few deep breaths, she rolled her head slowly on her neck, listening for the usual creaks of released tension, but this time there were none. Encouragement urged her to venture a bit farther when the sound of a woman's voice from a distance called out.

"Mari, come down here! I'm leaving and I need to talk to you."

Parker listened for the pitter-patter of obedient feet to respond to the obviously impatient request but all was quiet outside her room. She assumed the beckoned must have been closer than she thought because everything outside her room returned to a deathly silence. Stretching leisurely, she was shocked when the door was abruptly thrown open and the woman appeared in the doorway. A portly, angry, middle-aged woman faced her unhappily.

"Maritza, why are you like this? So stubborn one minute, then sweet and angelic the next? She's been calling you for the past 15 minutes," the woman accused gently in fluent Portuguese.

With a jolt Parker realized she was the one the woman was calling. It had been years since anyone referred to her by her given name. Mainly because very few people knew what it was. Even those unrelated but closest to her were never made aware of her given name. Strangely the use of her name and the way the unseen woman pronounced it, in irritated frustration, reminded Parker of her mother. A stabbing pain pierced her heart and she looked away from the woman in the doorway to conceal the sudden, raw emotion that she knew had sprang into her face and eyes.

"Maritza, what's the matter, dear?" The non-judgmental tone in the woman's voice caused Parker to turn and look at her again. Eyes that showed only concern and love beamed eagerly from the woman's fleshy face.

"Nothing. It's just that....hearing her call my name like that and the way you pronounce it, reminded me of someone. Someone I miss," she replied, in an embarrassed voice.

"Really? Who? And since when did you start speaking English again? I thought you were 'committed to speaking nothing but Greek' as part of an immersion experiment? "

Parker smiled recalling how she had once done that and no one but the servants noticed. Today, it seemed like history was repeating itself. In truth, somehow, she must have been transported to the São Paulo affiliate. Probably at Raines' behest because she had lost Jarod yet again. Her last memory of how she had chased Jarod and then followed him into that crumbling warehouse monopolized her attention. She remembered a loud hum, kicking over a specimen jar and watching a tiny tree frog hop over to her, landing on her foot. She was about to launch it across the room with a swift kick, when an impossibly bright light started shining and Jarod _disappeared_..

Ana stared curiously at Maritza's puzzled frown, realizing that almost immediately she had became wrapped up in her own thoughts yet again. Out of the corner of her eye, she spotted a brightly colored amphibian. "Maritza, you've adopted _another_ pet?" With an added shake of her head, the woman smiled indulgently at Parker who followed her eyes and found the brilliantly green, red-eyed fellow resting comfortably next to her on the bed. Fed up footsteps came up the stairs behind Ana. 'Poor Mari is in for it now.' Standing aside, Ana watched the other enter, stand in the middle of the room and stare indignantly.

Parker's mind was still occupied by the odd occurrence of Jarod disappearing before her eyes and wondering how to spin this latest incident in order to stave off Raines' ever increasing ire at her unwillingness to play along with the fiction that he was her father. She flinched at the memory of how that old putrefying fossil had try to feel up her legs during his holy-roller bullshit. Father, yeah right. Not even Rasputin could've continued laying in peace if he had that kind of rumor knocking around. Finally becoming aware of someone staring at her, Parker looked up. Her eyes widened and the blood rushed from her face. The woman narrowed her eyes at this reaction, wondering what was going on.

Slowly coming to her feet, Parker faced the woman, and asked in a tiny voice, "Mama?"

Catherine Parker kept staring at her wily, yet lovable daughter. Rebellion was new to her beautiful Maritza but it was starting to have adverse effects on Catherine's usually tight schedule. Resolved that this new wrinkle in her daughter's repertoire shouldn't delay her any more than necessary, Catherine absently ran her fingers through her short, thick hairdo and took a deep breath. Before she could utter a word, she found herself in a tight embrace from her daughter. Astonishment caused precious seconds to pass as the younger woman continued to squeeze as though trying to reassure herself that she wasn't in a dream.

Parker clung like she hadn't done since she was twelve. Her beloved mother was there, alive, and vibrant. Her mother's ever-present perfume wafted freshly from her body encouraging Parker to press her cheek against the soft cheek of her mother's.

Paying attention to the voices in her head was something new to Catherine when a soft, caressing voice told her to comfort her child. This time she listened as she tossed her purse on Maritza's bed and fully returned the embrace while slowly and methodically stroking the girl's back. After some time, Maritza slowly let her mother go, then leaned forward and kissed Catherine's face and started crying as though she was already aware that Catherine was planning to do something very foolhardy.

"Hey, what's with all these tears? You act like you haven't seen me in a month of Sundays. And where in heaven did you get those clothes?" Catherine chided gently. The obviously expensive clothes Maritza was dressed in made her look like she had raided her mother's closet because every stitch was too large and baggy and of a style that made Catherine pause.

"My God, is it true? Are you really here or is this my imagination?"

Catherine was about to respond angrily when she looked in Maritza's eyes. There was no guile or calculation there, only confusion and desperate hope. Feeling a great deal of confusion herself, Catherine was about to return her daughter's kiss and quickly leave when the voices returned more strident this time, urging her to stay. She allowed her shoulders to droop and turning to her housekeeper said, "Ana? Please put the kettle on, it looks like I need to spend the day with my little rogue."

"Of course, Dona Ferrer," Ana answered immediately. Her approval of Catherine's decision was clearly apparent in her voice.

Returning to her daughter's tear-stained face, Catherine smiled kindly at her and said, "Wipe those tears away and meet me downstairs in 5 minutes. I have an appointment I need to cancel." Nodding significantly at Maritza, Catherine slipped from her daughter's insistent grip on her arms and left the room.

Alone, Parker was still bowled over by her mother's appearance. Thinking it must be a trick or she was dreaming, it came down to not caring which it was, the fact that she had a chance to hold and kiss her mother one more time was enough. Turning to the mirror, Parker plucked a disposable tissue from the box in front of a dresser and looked into the mirror. Another surprise froze all thought and action as she glanced at her reflection. Not believing what was before her, Parker touched her face and hair gingerly, as though trying to convince herself that the impossible wasn't happening. The face that stared back at her was her own but reflected a visage Parker had not seen since she was seventeen. Her dark hair had been lightened to a warm, honey blonde and it flowed around her face and past her shoulders in a style that was easily reminiscent of the late '70's. The usual careworn face that subtly showed the tension and pressure of the past few months had given way to that of her teenaged self. All Parker could do was gulp, blink several times and stare at the impossible.


	3. Paradise

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1.

**Author's note: **This story deals with 2 separate periods of time. In this chapter and the next whenever there is a shift it will be noted at the head of the segment. Typically, any portion of the story dealing with Argentina or the Centre concerns the present; all others--the past.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 3  
****By Callisto**

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_**Dorado Iron Works - Present**  
_**_Warehouse District  
_****_Buenos Aires, Argentina_**

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Norwood sat at his makeshift desk, head resting in the palm of his hand, deep in thought as he stared at his wounded creation. The first horrified pangs had passed and the angry, frustrated tears had dried on his face where they had once flowed freely, unchecked. After he realized that for whatever reason, he hadn't written down the latest modifications he had made to the alignment of crystals, conductors and filament coursing through and giving life to his invention, madness temporarily enveloped him. That had been preceded by the confirmation that an unexpected load had been placed on his containment field. At least one but possibly two _adults_ had stumbled into the area and his obedient machine had burned out its circuits and caused a chain-reaction of damage to transport them through the portal.

Norwood had no way of knowing if they survived the trip or where they actually ended up. His best guess was somewhere in the past, since that was how the computer had been programmed. Whatever damage they were wrecking on the timeline was unfathomable to him. His own theories were diametrically opposed to those held by his professors who espoused their opinions as a mental exercise to an overwrought student. For him, Time has an infinite number of possibilities—past, present and future. Each reality residing inside a possibility bore a resemblance to the other which ranged from either slightly different to completely opposite the next. The plethora of possibilities left him dizzy with a deeper belief and respect for the omnipotent Power who kept all this crap straight. What he was sure of is that they were somewhere other than the past they were familiar with and knew. What affects their disappearance would have in the present was unknown to him. Defeat and arrogant sorrow clouded his mind for another half hour.

Two human subjects had gone through the portal. In effect, they disappeared without a trace. Discouragement came in the form of having no way of contacting them without repairing the machine and recreating the aperture. Without the correct schematics, Norwood had set himself back at least 6 months.

Abruptly, he returned to his worktable and scanned the newspapers again. There were no stories of any missing persons, so the odds were fairly good that whoever they were, no one was missing them. Norwood vowed to keep his eyes open and to begin making surreptitious inquires about any strangers in the area. Knowledge equals power and he reasoned this would be the only way of knowing who it was that went through the portal and if he was able to fix the damage, perhaps luring one or preferably both back as proof.

**_Abernathy residence – Late 70's  
Hickory, IN_**

Several days had to pass before Jarod finally was forced to acknowledge a fundamental truth: Every paradise has an apple with a gigantic worm hiding in the middle of it. Prior to this revelation and after the shock of his appearance had worn off; he sat down and tried to puzzle out what had occurred to him. A few things were readily apparent: one, that this was no dream. Second, that he had passed through what obviously had to be a time vortex. How it was formed and why was still a mystery to him. He would have given himself more time to think, when he heard his mother calling for him to come down before his breakfast got cold.

Standing up from his perch on the side of the tub, Jarod had to hike up his pants for the tenth time. A heavy-set woman once remarked to him that the middle-age spread had hit her hard. At his confused look, she promptly explained that after a certain age, for most, the metabolism slows down and people begin to put on weight. She smiled and winked at Jarod, nodding at his slender figure. 'Don't you worry, Jarod. You have a few years yet before you start being bothered by something like that.' When she had told him this, according to the birth date his father later supplied, he was already 39. Jarod found that he had to agree with the woman and staring at the looseness in his pant's waistband, he was forced to acknowledge that he had gained a number of unwanted pounds. The only solution was to pay closer attention to his eating habits by severely backing off his sub-diet of sweets and to continue to exercise as often as possible.

Where the worm in the apple came into play was unusual but then everything about what was happening to him was strange. The first hint of the worm's shape came in the form of culture. Sydney had taken great pains to isolate him from any cultural references or celebrations. As a child, he never celebrated a birthday, never knew anything about the tooth fairy, Santa Claus or the joys of a snow day. This left a gaping hole in his understanding of childhood. After his escape, he found children interesting and quickly set out to learn what a cultural childhood was all about. The toys, customs and food still fascinated and intrigued him. To top this off, he had never experienced parenting or being a child of those who exercised this skill on him. Though the test subject mentality persisted, he was now a kid again (sort of) and being treated like one.(!) He found it a tricky business but paid close attention to Kyle and Emily's reactions. But that wasn't the whole worm. At breakfast he found out a lot about himself without having to probe much. First off, he cooked eggs better than his mother but there was something she did to the sausages that made them delectable.

"I take it you like the sausages, Jarod?" his mother asked with a smile in her voice.

Opening his eyes which he closed in his enjoyment, Jarod noticed his entire family was watching him. Sheepishly he released the tiny nub that was remaining to his plate, only to have it snatched up by Kyle who beat out his father by half a second. Not accustomed to interfamilial behavior, Jarod shrugged and said, "They're very good."

Major Trevor Abernathy, formerly known as Charles, gave his youngest son a falsely stern look while Kyle chewed contentedly. "Enjoy it now Son. After you start Basic, Mom's cooking will be nothing more than a fond memory."

"Basic?" Jarod asked with alarmed confusion.

"Yep. Basic training will toughen you up in no time. It'll also teach you discipline and the value of the things you never realized you took for granted. Being away from home on a more permanent basis will help you to become more self-sufficient."

His father's words confused the daylights out of Jarod. Apparently he was expected to enter a branch of the Armed Forces. The major continued speaking casually, "I fully support your decision to enter the Air Force, Son but if you want out, let me know now. I'm still holding out hope that you'll change your mind and accept the executive position at Aviatrics International. As a multinational conglomerate they have a lot to offer a brilliant, young 20 year old."

Several mysteries were solved by this speech, which from the bored looks around the table had been given several times. "Since last night, I've been thinking some things over, Dad. Perhaps you're right, maybe I shouldn't jump into the military so quickly."

Bored turned to startled expressions from everyone around the table as his declaration proved this was a radical deviation from his usual response. "I think I would like to spend some more time with my family before taking such a big step," Jarod continued with a smile. That said he politely excused himself, which widened his mother's incredulous eyes, and went upstairs to find his room.

There were 3 separate bedrooms upstairs, none of which appeared to be his. A notice on one door advising everyone to keep out marked Kyle's. Jarod settled on Kyle's room, borrowed his brother's hairbrush and returned to the bath to give his fashionably long, shaggy mane a severe haircut. Once finished, he ran the brush through his drastically shortened locks while still staring transfixed at this reflection. He had rarely been provided with the chance to see what he looked like when he was this age. It was fascinating. He didn't really resemble his father the way Kyle did. That was something he would find a way of asking his mother about.

Without warning, Kyle burst into the room and ignoring his older brother, he rummaged through the mess in his closet, found a pair of Angel Flight pants and pulled them on after discarding his sweatpants. Kyle paused and stared at Jarod curiously. "What did you do to your hair and why are you using my brush to do it? Don't you have one of your own in your bedroom?"

Smiling with self-confident approval, Jarod petted his rather chic 90's haircut and answered, "I like it better short and it's easier to maintain. Besides your room is closer to the bathroom."

"Well, if you go downstairs to your bedroom, you'll find your brush is closer to _that_ bathroom," Kyle answered mildly shaking his head at Jarod's new 'do. Despite his initial dismay, Kyle acknowledged to himself that Jarod's cut did look cool and seemed easier to manage. Before Jarod could answer, Kyle asked, "Well, if your not going to OTS then why'd you cut your hair? And since when have you climbed off your high horse? What happened to all that anti-corporate spiel? Seer Jarod spouting that the 1980's are destined to be a decade of excessive corporate greed and you wanted no part of it."

"I said that? Well, I'm right. I just need some more time to get my bearings."

"Well, Bro' one good way to start is to dump that 'Ice Princess' you call a girlfriend. Asia's kept your tongue hanging out for the past 6 months," Kyle replied solemnly.

Surprised at his brother's candor, Jarod put down the brush and looked at him. Kyle shook his head in disgust and headed for the door. "Why you ever let that scheming, manipulative bitch get her claws into you, is beyond me." Kyle left his room without saying another word. Jarod stood there with a silly look on his face.

It took him several minutes to locate his room; it was at the back of the house and had a beautiful view of the backyard and what he presumed was his mother's garden. Sinking onto his unmade bed, Jarod looked around at the mess that was his room. He was worse than Kyle. Dirty clothes littered the floor, a pizza box hung out in a corner like a very old friend and the room smelled of sweaty socks and musty clothes. With a sigh, Jarod started to clean up.

A few hours later the room had been transformed. Fresh air floated sweetly from the scented flowers in the yard, the bed looked like a quarter could be bounced on it and the garbage had been removed. Because of the small confined space he had been forced to live in as a child, then being on the run, he discovered a distinct dislike for useless clutter, unless it involved research or immersion in popular culture—like donuts. In the cleaning, Jarod discovered a number of other things about himself. A small stack of journals, written in his hand, were hidden in the closet along with the paperwork detailing his admission into the Air Force's Officer Training School in Alabama. Hunting around, he found his most recent journal and began reading. Still the worm in paradise eluded him.

Its first appearance occurred when a friend of his showed up at the back door. This scruffy-looking youth with long blonde hair, equally long sideburns and a mischievous smirk took one look at Jarod's short hair and gawked. "What the Hell? Man, what did ja go an' do that for?"

Jarod looked up and frowned slightly, "I'm sorry?"

"Oh, they're already brainwashing ya, Jay," the boy replied with a sorrowful shake of the head. Perking up, inexplicably, he said, "What say we go down to the Diner and meet up with the rest of the guys? Maybe they can talk some sense into you and Asia's shift starts in about 15 minutes," he added with conscious slyness.

Jarod looked up sharply. His interest in Asia had sharpened since Kyle voiced his entirely negative opinion. Apparently she was his girlfriend who could possibly help him gain his bearings. It seemed his interest in 'Ice Princesses' went beyond this time frame. Unfortunately, after a week of hanging out with his 'friends', he found them extremely immature, self-absorbed, spouting opinions that boarded on the ridiculous and consumed by the thought, fantasy and numerous misconceptions of sex and the opposite sex in particular. Asia was exactly what Kyle had characterized—a frigid, uninteresting tease. The worm had finally revealed itself in its entirety. Jarod's assessment was that although he had been thrust back in time, he retained all the knowledge, experience and memories of his prior life. In effect, he was a 42 year old, middle-aged adult stuck in the body of a 20 year-old without an adult to talk to except his parents, who had their own expectations of him and were beginning to think that he had lost his mind.  
  
On the surface this should've been a bonanza of National Lampoonian proportions, instead he was lonelier than he had ever been. At least during the chase he had his pursuers—Miss Parker and Sydney to talk to when things bordered on the unbearable. Here he was alone in paradise. Somehow he got back a portion of the time the Centre had stolen from him and right now all he wanted was someone he could relate to, like another 40-something who would be able to talk to him without boring him to tears and there wasn't a soul in sight who could help.

Except. The one who was chasing him had been only a few feet behind him. The possibility that she was caught up and flung through the vortex along with him were good. She was closer to the middle of it than he. After returning home from an afternoon of avoiding his 'friends', Jarod had an excellent plan in mind. Checking his calendar, he hoped Miss Parker would be in Vermont for the summer. It was Catherine who usually came to the Inn alone, but perhaps she would bring her daughter this time. It was a chance he would have to take; at the very least he would have the opportunity of convincing Catherine to introduce him to her daughter. What he needed now was to talk his parents into taking the entire family on a real vacation.


	4. Parker's story

**Disclaimer:** Please see Chapter 1 for details

**Author's note: **I want to thank all those who've read this story so far and those who have reviewed and shared their opinions with me. I'm releasing this chapter early for you. Ginger – Thank you!

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 4  
****By Callisto**

****

**The Centre - Present  
****Blue Cove, DE  
  
**

Mr. Raines sat back in his chair after receiving his hourly update from the sweepers in Buenos Aires. Both the pretender and Miss Parker had gone missing for over two weeks. What was so unusual was that Parker hadn't taken anything with her except the clothes on her back. The shakiness in Karl's voice had remained firmly in place since she vanished. It was obvious to Raines that he would have to recall the sweeper for more intensive questioning. He needed someone reliable whom he could trust not to fall apart when things got messy. Somewhere Karl made a fatal error. Raines wanted to know the extent of it and if this error was what prompted Miss Parker to disappear. The chances that somehow she elicited the pretender to help her were very high. A deep, dissatisfied sigh escaped his thin lips, the chances were also high that once she was found, Miss Parker would also have to be thoroughly questioned, then eventually remapped. She possessed skills that so far no one else could duplicate—not even her twin. Her mind was too important but certain impulses and opinions would have to be purged or drastically altered. It was an intriguing problem that he looked forward to overseeing.

Subtle pain he had learned not to ignore prompted him to unlock the secret drawer in his desk and retrieve a bottle of prescription meds that he always kept on hand. Mr. Parker was an excellent shot but the resulting damage was something that couldn't be avoided. His fingers brushed the frayed edges of an old accordion binder which held paperwork he had found well over 40 years ago. During the preliminary construction of SL-27 and buried in a carefully concealed vault, Raines' sweepers had discovered a thick sheaf of documents that Parker's father had deposited. Those papers provided the first building blocks to the cleverly constructed lie he had been living ever since. It was a lie that Parker had died believing and in the end forced him to murder Catherine. Fortunately, her inner-sense hadn't warned her of his precarious and elaborate deception and provided him an opportunity to protect his investment. Without it, he wouldn't be sitting where he was today.

With Broots' help, Sydney was able to tap in and listen to the Chairman's overseas phone calls. Things were looking bad and his worry for Miss Parker increased with each day she remained missing. As Angelo once told Parker, Sydney did know many of the secrets and lies from the past as well as a number of the present ones. Despite Broots' findings, Sydney knew that Raines wasn't Parker's father. He was also fully aware that although Mr. Parker professed paternity, he wasn't Miss Parker's father either but how Raines had pulled off the fiction that he was Mr. Parker's brother was a mystery. The documentation had been extremely convincing. So he didn't try to stop Broots from informing Miss Parker of a fact she could never nor would ever accept. He was aware of her father's true identity but he could never reveal it since he had been supplied this information as a result of his confidential sessions with Catherine, making the dead woman's revelations privileged.

For what seemed like the 10th time, Sydney sent another e-mail message to Jarod. There was no trace of him either and all Angelo could tell him didn't make any sense. Some jumbled reference to Jarod being gone from this time to another, safer time—whatever that meant.

* * *

****

**Lakeside Bed and Breakfast Inn – Late 1970's  
****Lake Catherine, VT**

****

Parker walked into the Inn with an air of relief. Prior to this trip, she had run into a 'friend' of hers. The delineation between herself and the girl whose place she took was sharp. All the friends she had from when she had originally been a teen in her old life had been transitory at best and from equally wealthy families. Estella was from a nearby town, middle-class and surprisingly worldly. Parker was able to find out a lot about her _other_ self from this walking wealth of information. What she found, she didn't necessarily like and caused her to take time out for some desperately needed self-evaluation. Though she could take advantage of the situation, she quickly realized that she had stepped into the middle of another person's life. The fact that it was hers, served to further confuse.

Finally, she was on familiar ground and could at least see things that she felt had some connection to her old life. Actually the entire town was exactly the same as the day she had first stepped foot in it almost 30 years in the future—even the commuter bus waiting in front of the country store was a welcome sight. Being with her mother, whenever the busy woman was around, in such unfamiliar surroundings left her with a surreal feeling and kept reminding her unhappily that somehow she wound up in a bizarre sci-fi movie. Having her mother so close was the answer to a lifelong prayer. To tell her once again that she loved her was beyond her wildest dreams. Unfortunately, there were some aspects about her mother that Parker realized her sanitized memory had conveniently erased. Her mother was loving but always busy. Trying to improve the world and assist the disadvantaged was a cause that took up much of Catherine's time, energy and focus. In this warped out scenario, her mother hadn't changed a bit, it was Parker's imagination, assisted by grief and longing that had blinded her to reality.

Looking around, she was pleased to see the Inn had remained the same. An unconscious smile lit her face and Catherine, who was carefully watching her volatile daughter's reaction, sighed a breath of relief. Maritza had become an extreme handful as of late. Returning to the U.S. was an awful risk but Catherine had made up her mind to tell Maritza the truth about her parentage. How she was going to break it to her daughter that she had a twin—well the means still eluded her. Maritza was the most important person in her life and the past few weeks, though shocking had also further solidified her affection and devotion.

The day Catherine had stayed home from her appointments to spend time with Maritza, she found a different person inhabiting her daughter's body. Maritza's eyes shined bright with love and curiosity. The teenager kept hugging her and touching her face and hair while joyful tears sprang up in her eyes. Eventually she calmed down and then started asking a multitude of questions, some straying into areas and subjects she should've already known. It was during this daylong talk, which turned out to be more absorbing and interesting than anticipated, that Catherine could see the woman Maritza had turned out to be. The girl was truly mature, wickedly intelligent and introspective—almost brutally so. It was during those moments that Catherine realized she found her closest ally, confidante and friend. The lone drawback was that her daughter wanted to spend more time with her, and then wheedled her way into tagging along to work. Instead of nipping at her heels to see everything her mother did, Maritza, much to Catherine's surprise, hung out in her office. At the end of the day, Catherine found that Maritza had, in addition to cleaning the pack-rat mess of the office, systematically read and examined practically every file and piece of paper. Later that week, Catherine found that Maritza had expertly fielded calls and in some cases accurately provided information to clients who called back looking for her. Emboldened by this thumping success, Catherine invited Maritza to a charity ball the Institute was throwing in order to raise the necessary funds to keep a children's shelter in Lisbon funded and adequately staffed. She felt it was time that her daughter, with the proper guidance, was informally introduced to society.

Parker looked around the large ballroom and quickly spotted each target without hesitation. She gracefully detached herself from her mother's side and began to work the room. She was resplendent in a fashionable Baby doll dress in moss crepe with a Birtwell tulip print, satin trim and Elizabethan sleeves. Her mother had explained the goal for the night was to get the wealthy to feel good about relinquishing considerable amounts of cash for the cause. Parker smiled almost wolfishly to herself, it was like taking candy from the sticky fingers of a sleeping child. Her 'father' had taught her well. Within minutes she had one man fetching her a drink while she was engaged in a lively conversation with 4 others. None of the men surrounding her had a bank balance below the million-dollar mark and each was flirting with her to varying degrees—just the way she liked it.

To Catherine's dismay, she found her beautiful girl dazzling and _flirting _with men at least twice her age. At first she couldn't believe her eyes but when one of the men smiled salaciously at her little girl, Catherine found that she could no longer afford to stand by and watch Martiza get mauled by perverts. When she insinuated herself next to her daughter, Catherine, with some difficulty, managed to wrestle her away from the attentions of her male admirers. Confronted with her mother's concerns, the girl off-handedly replied, "He was interested and I was bored. You don't actually think I would let that guy touch me? His intelligence would have to be rated somewhat larger than the size of his, ummm foot, before I'd go _that_ far. Besides, he's willing to donate a healthy sum as long as I keep smiling and making his wandering wife jealous."

Catherine blanched in dismay. However, when the influential director of Public Welfare commanded her attention, she momentarily lost sight of Maritza. A half hour later, she found her. Maritza was chatting up a very lean and handsome middle-aged man and flirting very prettily. Catherine had to cut her attendance short and forcibly drag her daughter away to safety. The resulting argument discouraged Catherine who could plainly see in Maritza's face that the girl didn't understand her mother's horror.

Parker, at first, had been confused then sadly irritated at her mother's reaction. It only took another glance at her reflection in the mirror before she had to concede that her mother was probably right. Mario, the luscious lush, was looking at an adolescent, not a fort---for—er, middle-aged woman. 'How _pathetic_, I can't even say my own age in my head without stuttering in denial,' she thought with a disgusted shake of her head, despite the fact that she would reach that milestone on her _next_ birthday. The worm in Paradise for Parker was that at seventeen she wouldn't be allowed to take her energized hormones out for a spin, and like Jarod, she wasn't used to being parented, though her mother seemed hell bent on exercising every last bit of her parental rights. At her _real_ age, Parker had to dig deep to find patience with her mother's mind-set. In contrast, her father had been neither interested nor cared about her behavior—as long as it didn't embarrass either him or the Centre. Like Catherine, Parker felt this trip to the U.S. was a time to regroup and figure some things out.

"Ladies, thanks for joining us," greeted a deep male voice with a soft Down Eastern accent. Both women turned around to find Benjamin Thomas Miller facing them. Surprised shock stopped him for a few seconds before he recovered and warmly greeted Catherine. While he was kissing her mother's cheeks, Parker felt a small hand slip into her own. Looking down at her little brother, Parker smiled at him lovingly. He was a brilliant light in this bizarre scenario that was fast becoming her reality. Everything was similar to her old life as a teen but subtle, important differences persisted everywhere. Idly she wondered if Jarod had been able to extricate himself from whatever had sucked her down Alice's rabbit hole but one thing was for sure. Her lovely mother was most definitely the March Hare in all his haste.

"Hello there, Ben. You forgot my brother. This is Ethan," she said while moving slightly aside to reveal her 6 year old little brother.

An expression of wonderment flooded his face and he exchanged a quick glance with Catherine, noting her concerned expression. Again recovering smoothly, Ben looked down at the small boy and smiled gently, "Hello there, young man. Your mother has told me a lot about you and your sister." Shifting his eyes to look into Parker's adolescent face he asked probingly, locking her gaze into his own, "Though I'm at a loss as to how you know my name. I believe this is the first time I've had the pleasure of meeting you."

Parker quickly realized her error, though with only the tiniest flinch, she smoothly replied, "I heard my mother say she didn't want to be late meeting you." Glancing at Catherine, Parker continued, "You remember Mama, when you were searching for our passports and thought you left them back at the villa." Parker offered him a toothy grin, and when she saw the suspicion subside in his face, she quickly looked away, tightening her grip on Ethan's hand and wishing she were on that bus going anywhere.

"Well, it's nice to meet both of you. Why don't I show you to your rooms so you can get freshened up?" With that, Ben gathered up a couple of their bags and led the way to the rooms.


	5. A mother and her daughter

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for details.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 5  
****By Callisto  
  
**

**Lakeside Bed & Breakfast  
****Lake Catherine, VT**

Several hours later, after an awkwardly, tense dinner, Parker and Ethan ambled companionably around the inn, getting a better feel of their surroundings. Going up a staircase just inside the side door off the mudroom, they found a little used room and poked around, invasively curious. Parker truly liked her little brother. At this age, he hung onto her every word and looked up to her as a pseudo-parent. She hoped that one day, she would have the chance to tell him what a cute kid he had been. A brief smile lit her face as she thought about the last time she had seen the grown-up version. After Jarod left, Ethan kept looking at her apprehensively, as though he expected her to blame him for Jarod's behavior. She assured him that she would never hold anything Jarod did against him. Ethan breathed a heavy sigh of relief and happily served the remainder of her dinner, which had been expertly prepared.

Once alone and settled in her own room, she flopped tiredly on her own bed. Today had been extremely long. At the airport, on a lark she ditched her mother and brother for a few moments to satisfy her curiosity. However, the looks she kept getting from her mother made her uncomfortable, until the voices, ah…another aspect of her old life that remained with her like the tiny red-eyed amphibian hitchhiker, told her that Catherine had important news to share. Whatever it was, Parker felt quite equal to anything her mother had to throw at her. She knew Mr. Parker wasn't her father but she suspected that her mother wanted to inform her of this. What had started to tease Parker was the identity of Ethan's father. This time around, it couldn't have been Major Charles, since Catherine had left the Centre long before Ethan had been conceived on the other side of the looking glass but with the way Ben greeted her mother, she felt secure in her assumptions on that point as well. The book she had been reading fell unattended in her lap. She was thus wrapped up in her own thoughts when she heard a light knocking at the bedroom door. Suspecting her mother wanted to peek in to make sure everything was all right, she called out. If she had been able, Parker would've found the misunderstanding between her mother and herself as amusing. At the charity ball, Parker had unconsciously done what Mr. Parker had trained her to do—use her looks and sex to chat up the clients, while deftly convincing them to part with their money for a good cause. As her mother, Catherine neither understood nor would've ever approved of using her daughter in that manner.

The door opened slowly, finally revealing the dark-haired head of her little brother. Ethan's eyes were large and uncomfortable. A quick glance at the clock confirmed what she knew; it was after 10pm and way past his bedtime. The tired-looking little boy slipped into the room looking forlorn and came to a stop just a few feet from her bedside, ready to make his request. Before a word was spoken, he started tugging at the front, inside leg of his pajama pants.

Puzzlement furrowed Parker's brow when she asked abruptly, "What's the matter?"

"Nothing," said he in a small, tight voice.

Easily understanding what he was too embarrassed to say, Parker frowned slightly and replied, "Come here, where is the tag?" she asked reaching behind him. Obligingly, he turned while she read the size on the tag. "You're growing like a reed. Go in the bathroom and take off the underwear. We'll get you some that fit tomorrow."

Relief clouded his eyes as he practically ran from the room and down the hall to the bathroom. Only a minute later, Ethan came back and stood in the same spot. Looking up surprised, she asked, "What's wrong?"

"I don't like it here," he said simply.

The past two weeks had educated her in Ethan-speak. Translation: Can I sleep with you where it's safe? Nodding indifferently, Parker lifted her book, while Ethan crawled over her, one of his more annoying habits, to settle down on the other side of the bed instead of walking around. Without any prompting, he leaned his body into hers and snuggled close. Parker settled the book in her lap again, rested her cheek on top of his soft hair and began to read to him, while simultaneously scratching his back. They both were asleep within a few minutes.

Early the next morning, it was in a slightly modified position that Catherine found them. She assumed Ethan had gotten an early start but was slightly surprised to find him sleeping with Maritza. They were slumped together in bed sound asleep. A month ago, Maritza would've never stood for this. The teenager would have bundled up her little brother in the middle of the night and returned him to his own bed. Catherine shook her head at the many changes that had occurred in so little time. With gentle deliberation, Catherine sighed, determined not to put off the inevitable another moment and woke her children.

* * *

After a brief breakfast, Parker looked up in time to see her mother exchange a significant glance with Ben. The older man immediately caught the message and cheerfully induced Ethan into a quick trip into town. Catherine, taking no chances, walked over to her daughter and asked her to stay for a while. After a few beats, Catherine nervously spoke up.

"Maritza, there is something I need to tell you. Please try to hear me out before speaking your mind. This isn't easy and I regret waiting so long to tell you this."

Parker gave her mother a small, understanding smile but otherwise remained silent. Catherine wasn't sure how to take her reaction but was determined to blurt it out. "Darling, I brought you out here for a reason. I'm not sure there's an easy way to say this to lessen the blow, so I'll just come out with it," Catherine said softly. Casting Maritza an apprehensive glance, she said quietly, "It's your right to know that your father, your real father is Ben Miller. The man you've called Daddy all these years was sterile. We couldn't have children. At first I thought it was my fault and I didn't expect to ever have a child." Catherine was wringing the table napkin in her fingers tightly. "Then when our marriage began to fail and I finally confronted him with the rumors I kept hearing about his philandering, he abruptly confessed to everything." Her voice became stronger and her eyes had a faraway look as though the incident occurred just a few minutes before.

"By the time he admitted what I'd suspected, disgust and disappointment had long ago replaced any regard and confidence I had in him. He actually tried to claim that he was doing it for the good of the family corporation. Still, the idea of my marriage falling apart and being childless as well plunged me into a dangerous depression. A psychiatrist friend of mine recommended that I take a long vacation. That's when I came up here. And when Ben decided to flirt with me, like he usually did, harmless really--I took him up on it. Pushed it a bit to tell the truth and fell into having an affair with him. When I returned home from one of those trips, I found that I was pregnant."

Catherine looked at her daughter, waiting for the volcano of emotion to erupt. When Maritza returned her gaze composedly, Catherine breathed a sigh of relief. She and Mr. Parker had parted ways with as much enmity and hostility as either could summon. The evil Mr. Parker had done was such that Catherine could never forgive.

"I'm glad you told me but I must confess that I suspected this is what you wanted to tell me the second I met Ben. He looks at you in a way I've always wanted someone to look at me," Parker said sadly. Poor Tommy had been so close but she had waited too long.

"You will, I promise. God knows what you're feeling right now. I was determined to tell you the truth before _he_ found a way to hurt you with it." By her tone of voice, Parker knew she meant Mr. Parker. "When I first met him, I was so happy. We'd been married for a couple years before I began to see the other, darker side of him. Oh Sweetheart, it was so ugly and manipulative. I pray you never experience anything like that."

Parker offered her mother a soul-weary smile as though saying, 'Too late.' This expression stopped Catherine short and made her stare at Parker with confused wonder. Actually, Parker was relieved to hear her mother's admission. She had been fairly certain that Raines was pulling her leg in declaring himself her father but there was another more pressing matter in her mind.

"Mama, I have a question for you. It's important to me and something that's been weighing on my mind…for some time," Parker began haltingly. She was about to say years but fortunately realized that wouldn't have made any sense. "It's sort of a hypothetical question that came up. If your back was up against the wall and you found yourself surrounded by people you couldn't trust—not even Da—Mr. Parker, you're pregnant and after an abortive attempt to rescue a group of children who were kidnapped and held at, say, the Centre for instance. Would you fake your death? Knowing I was close by to see your dead body? Why would you have put me through that?"

The words spilled from Parker's lips as she began what in a small, sane part of her mind she knew objectively must sound insane but her heart and her damaged psyche wouldn't let up. So drawn within herself Parker didn't notice how still her mother became as the hypothetical grew more convoluted. When she finished, Parker's eyes shifted expectantly over to her mother's face. A deep hunger to understand coupled with a youthful eagerness for mitigating evidence to free her own damaged, overburdened and exploited inner-self from the pricey reparations her sense of justice demanded of her loyalty and self-worth.

However the look on Catherine's face was a study. At once she looked guilty and confused. How her daughter could've found out about the _child_ Dr. Raines had kidnapped after his failed attempt to capture another was beyond Catherine. The last part of her daughter's question had her flummoxed and a flash of anger suffused her mind as the quiet inner-voice of her mother softly imposed itself in her thoughts—calming and urging a full answer without question.

"I don't know how you could've known what happened and most of this isn't any of your business but this much I will tell you. My husband, Mr. Parker, has a close friend—a doctor, named Raines. Dr. Raines' wife was also a physician, a good friend of mine and I trusted her. Just before I decided to take you and leave him for good, I was a nervous wreck. I kept trying to convince myself that everything I knew and found out wasn't true. During my period of self-delusion, I wasn't able to sleep, I could barely think straight. That's when Edna prescribed a few pills to me. When I ran out, I couldn't find Edna but her husband refilled the prescription.

"Sydney, a psychiatrist friend of mine, caught me taking the pills and took a few to examine. He was curious because usually I never took medications. A few days later he asked for the full bottle of pills and confiscated them from me, explaining they were psychotropic drugs that would've made a normal person act irrationally. When I told him where I had gotten them from, he was furious. I swore him to secrecy and told him my plan for leaving my husband which included faking my own suicide. Sydney pointed out that I was being short sighted, forgetting about my little girl and to allow a few days of fasting to flush the drugs from my system. That did the trick because afterwards I learned something so devastating that I no longer had a choice but to leave and took the direct route—I grabbed you and ran."

"Oh my God, Mom. I knew there must have more to it. He lied, again and again," Parker replied blinking away grateful tears.

"He _told_ you about this? When?"

Cover story in place, Parker explained with conscious sheepishness, that she had called her father about a year ago from a payphone asking how he was and if he missed her. This was partially true and based upon Estella's answers to her leading questions.

Catherine blanched at the explanation and closing her eyes, started rubbing her forehead to stave off an impending headache. Parker sympathized with her mother and tried to ease the hurt she just caused.

"I talked to him from a payphone and did just like on the James Bond movies, I didn't stay on the line any longer than a minute. I also put too much money in the machine so the operator wouldn't come on asking for more. I took precautions, but now, I don't think I'll ever want to speak to him again. Mom, there's something else I'm curious about—my brother. Not Ethan but my twin, where is he?" she asked bluntly. With a well-hidden shiver of disgust, she remembered the deplorable conditions under which Lyle had been raised into a cannibalistic sociopath all courtesy of the head ghoul himself, Mr. Raines. As she was completing this thought; Ben unexpectedly returned interrupting their chat.

"Excuse me, ladies but it seems that I forgot my wallet and I left Ethan waiting in the truck. Strolling over to a far counter, Ben retrieved his wallet from a cookie jar in the shape of an old-fashioned barrel. Just like the one she made for her father as a birthday present when she was a little girl. Like gears shifting and then falling effortlessly into place, the pieces of the puzzle finally fit. A blaze of white-hot anger lit her eyes from within as she stared at Ben.

When he entered the kitchen, the air seemed calm though Catherine did have the look of being suddenly blindsided. As he stuffed the wallet in his pants pocket he happened to glance at Maritza. Her expressive eyes held an anger and confusion that came up so suddenly he instinctively paused. If he had to guess, this was her delayed reaction to having him as a father, which made his heart ache sadly.

"What the hell is going on here?" Maritza asked with a shaky, rising voice. Turning to her mother, she asked accusingly, "Not you too. How could you lie to me about that? Why bother telling me anything at all?"

"I've only lied to you once and that was to protect you. I would never intentionally hurt you! How dare you accuse me of that?!" Catherine shouted at her daughter, proving to Ben it was from her that Maritza got her explosive anger.

"Mama, I'm not a fool. If he's my father than he has to be Mr. Parker's brother. Who's kidding who here!?"

Both Catherine and Ben's eyes widened in shock. They had planned on telling Maritza this part together. Having her accuse them of lying because of this disturbing detail caught them unawares. Catherine recovered first, calmly repeating, "I would never hurt you. I love you more than you'll ever know. How did you find out? We were trying to figure out a way of telling you."

Before Parker could reply, Ben said in a decisive tone, "Catherine, let me handle this. It's about time I sat down and had a long talk with my daughter. Seems to me we were worrying over nothing. She knows more than we gave her credit for." With that Ben opened the kitchen door that lead out to the rear yard and beckoned for Maritza to follow him.


	6. Fathers

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.  
**AN:** Thank you to everyone who's read and reviewed this story. This chapter deals with the past only.

  
  
Time to Consider  
**Chapter 6  
****By Callisto**

**  
  
Wyman Cabins  
****Lake Catherine, VT  
**  
  
The day had dawned with slow deliberation. At first his suggestion was met with puzzlement. His father had informed him that the last time he had taken his sons fishing they hated it. Jarod smiled hopefully, stating plainly that he recently had changed his mind.

Major Abernathy looked at his son curiously. It seemed a lot had changed in the past few weeks. With a small shrug and a stern warning that they would leave and never return if he heard just one ridiculous complaint, the major conceded. The last time he had to force his sons to join him on a fishing trip, this time around Jarod practically begged him to go. Maybe this was Jarod's method of finding a way to tell his father of his ultimate decision regarding his future.

It was the crack of dawn as they all sat around on an old wooden pier in the middle of nowhere. The river meandered slowly by, a main tributary that fed water into the lake. A quick glance at his father and Jarod smiled again. The man was sprawled out in a comfortable slouch in a strange looking chair. Meanwhile Jarod and Kyle sat near the edge of the pier with their poles securely anchored and their lines disappearing in the gentle current. Kyle yawned again for what seemed the hundredth time. What Jarod interpreted from his father's face when Kyle said he would go with them was that his little brother liked tagging along with him whenever possible. His father confirmed this by telling Jarod the whining rule went for hangers-on as well. Looking out at the gentle water, Jarod considered his present circumstances. For the first time in his life, he was spending quality time with his family as a whole and loving every minute of it. Their odd quirks and squabbles he soon realized required more tolerance than he had previously thought—simulations only went so far. The families he put back together prepared him in part for familial compromise. It honestly didn't bother him that Kyle hung around so much. He realized that it wasn't solely his friends' age and immaturity that got to him but that particular set of people. Kyle was a year younger at 19, great company, a bit of a womanizer, had a wicked sense of humor and a knack for getting into trouble. Having him as a best friend was Jarod's life-long dream. Things were getting to the point where eventually he would have to return to his own time and his own life. What would happen to the him of now concerned him because he knew it would affect his family directly.

"I have a hypothetical question I want to run past you," Jarod began. He cast an eye in his father's direction, but apparently he had fallen fast asleep. Slightly lowering his voice he continued, "It's about time travel. What if somehow you found yourself propelled down a time portal, where or rather _when_ would you find yourself?"

"That's easy. It would never happen cause there's no such thing. Time travel is nothing more than a Star Wars-like fantasy. By the way, did you know they were making a sequel?" Kyle asked confidently.

"Yes, two of them. Never mind that, but say for the sake of argument it could happen. Where would you wind up?"

"That would depend on which direction you were headed, future or past. Probably not the past, so you would have to go forward into the future."

"Why not the past?" Jarod asked with genuine curiosity.

"Because of the paradox you would cause. There's a well-known theory that says a person going backwards in time can't meet himself because two versions of the same person can't occupy the same space at the same time," the major replied languidly. His fishing hat remained pulled down over his eyes and he was still slouched in his chair.

Now there were getting into the meat of it. This is what Jarod wanted to test. "Yes, but what if time was nothing more than a place and each place represented a reality, you would then be able to go backwards without meeting yourself."

"You would still meet yourself, Jarod. That is unless your talking about going back to a time before you were born," Kyle mused seriously, then broke into a wide smile. "You know that old saw, if you could go back to 1932 would you kill Hitler, knowing the pain and horror he would inflict on millions?"

Jarod looked at his brother intently. That had been a notion he hadn't considered before. Could he execute someone for crimes they hadn't yet committed? Pushing that thought aside for the moment he replied to his brother. "Going back to a time before you existed _is_ sci-fi. The second you showed up, you would have an immediate effect on the time line, simply because you don't belong there."

"And traveling back in your own time wouldn't?" Kyle inquired disbelievingly.

"What if time is like a color spectrum? Each shade blends into the next but has its own identity, its own name even. A light brush of blue, slowly turns darker and darker until eventually, it becomes purple. For time it would mean that each shade or reality is a slightly different place than the one next to it. The reality you were born into and originally existed within is one shade but then you were sucked into a time portal and propelled backwards. As Dad said, since you can't meet your original self, you instead find yourself in a slightly different reality."

"So what you're saying is that you can never go back in time and correct old mistakes or relive a past trauma and do it again only better? You're a bigger pessimist than I gave you credit for, Bro'."

"I understand your theory, Jarod but who's to say which reality is the original and which is the variation? And if you wind up in the variation, what happened to the you that was there? Was that version forced to switch places?"

"All I can think of is that there isn't any real variation but if you happened to travel back into a variation of your original, than that person would no longer exist," Jarod replied as his theory of what happened to him took on a more solid shape.

"But what about the so-called original? What happens there?" Kyle inquired slowly.

Major Abernathy was now sitting up in his chair, staring at his sons. Their conversation had become interesting. It was the sort of discourse he always liked on a lazy morning. Jarod glanced at his father, then turning to his brother he answered, "It would seem like you vanished into thin air. Two lives would be affected. The traveler and the variation you happened to oust."

"Then it would also be fair to say that if the traveler somehow managed to return to his own time, then the circumstances would switch. In the variation, it would seem as though he had vanished into thin air," the major commented quietly. As each man sat and thought about their theories and tried to punch mental holes in it, the major's line began to twitch. The day would end up fruitful for each of them as the brothers watched their excited father reel in his fish.

****

**

* * *

**

****

**Lakeside Lobster Shack  
****Lake Catherine, VT**

Ben chose a lonely bench behind the closed restaurant. What he wanted to say, he didn't want Catherine to overhear. From her mother's stories and the girl's behavior, she was a difficult mixture of brilliance and volatility. He wanted to give her room to yell without disturbing his other guests and encouraging her mother to join in on the festivities.

"I realize your mother has allowed you a certain freedom. Though I haven't been a part of your life, I do want to get one thing clear: I won't tolerate you raising your voice to her. She deserves your respect regardless of what you might think," Ben said gravely. He looked at Maritza who remained calmly silent through his short speech. However a glance at her eyes told him a completely different story. "You have questions, I can see that. To answer your question: Yes, Leith and I are brothers. What I want to know is how you found out."

Parker was shocked. Not by his words but by the quiet certainty with which he delivered his truth—it was in everything about him, his eyes, posture and tone of voice. She believed him and couldn't reconcile what she had believed all her life with what she was now being told. It seemed that Broots' research had been proven accurate once again. Her father's DNA revealed that he was only a close relative of hers, meaning a relation of his was actually her father.

After a short pause during which they assessed each other, Ben offered a small smile of relief. "It's nice to see that I not only got your attention but that you believe me as well."

"To reveal how I found out about my er—uncle, would betray a confidence. In the short time since we've arrived in the U.S., I've found out that just about everything I've held true is nothing more than an elaborate lie. I don't give a damn that all this was done to spare my feelings, I value respect myself and I deserve the truth, not emotional pabulum. My mother knows this and we'll work out our differences at another time. No offense but the way we treat each other is between us and that's not going to change."

Quiet enveloped the table as Ben took in what she had to say. He wanted to address her behavior but there was something about her that discouraged continuing his objections. As a latecomer, he realized he would have to earn some standing with his own daughter. He also was forced to acknowledge that in an effort to spare her any unnecessary pain, they only added insult to injury.

"All right. I'll tell you about my brother and I. Early on it was evident that Leith was malleable. He was more willing to take a short cut than to meet a thing head on and tackle it honestly. On the flip side, he never knew when to cut his losses. As a result, he became our grandfather's favorite. My grandfather inherited the Centre from his father and looked forward to bequeathing it to Leith. For reasons he never explained, our father hated the Centre and minimized his involvement. What Leith did in his youth is a mystery to me; we spent our boyhoods at different boarding schools at our father's insistence. After our grandfather died and we were of an age to receive it, I was shocked to find that the old geezer included me in the inheritance. He could be cruel, our grandfather but Leith took the shared ownership in stride. I told him that he could run it on his own and took my college degrees elsewhere. Years went by before I heard from Leith again. This time it was to tell me that he was in trouble and needed my help. To make a very long story short, Leith had run the company into the ground financially. I took over as chairman, completely restructured management, turned the company, corporate and brought in investors. I approached a tiny international consortium of wealthy investment bankers based primarily out of Africa. With my help, I got them to bind closer together to improve their profits, so they owed me. The Triumvirate began bankrolling the Centre and both parties began to reap large profits.

"Originally the Centre was used as a conciliator between arguing parties, be it corporate competitors or governments, to come up with solutions to otherwise unsolvable problems. I was in charge of that branch and we did well and were paid handsomely for our successes. Leith was in charge of the much smaller research and development branch—the think tank. They would come up with ingenious ways to solve problems brought to the Centre by other companies. When I found out the extent Leith and that crony of his, Dr. Raines, were willing to go to expand their venture, it was too late to stop them. I tried to curb their exploits but they had already grabbed enough influence within the corporation that there was little I could do.

"Finally, I decided it was time to leave; Leith's corrosive personality and habits began to effect my life. I looked around and found I was in my thirties, unmarried, childless and a millionaire several times over. Things got ugly. Leith wouldn't let go. He was thoroughly corrupt and morally jaded, something I initially failed to see in my zeal to make the Centre a thumping success. It turned out that the Triumvirate were the ones to assist me in my escape. I drew up chairmanship papers for Leith in which I watered down his power base and bifurcated control of the Centre between him and my investment banker friends. Leith couldn't be trusted to run things on his own without oversight.

"I came up here, brought this Inn and dropped out of sight. Leith signed the papers to become the Centre's newest chairman. There were a few other details involved. Some of which I was only vaguely aware of but the Triumvirate knew and used to their advantage—something to do with grandfather's legacy. You see none of that mattered because all I wanted was out. A couple years later, your mother began coming up to the Inn. When she married, I never wanted to pry and never asked her about her new husband. A few years after that, the marriage started to fall apart and we eventually became intimate. That's how we were blessed with you and then eventually your brother."

Parker listened intently to what Ben had to say. She didn't interrupt him for fear of breaking his train of thought. What he said made a kind of twisted sense—even down to the scrolls. Her mother's message when she had been trapped in the bombed out rubble of Tommy Thompson's office turned out to be true. Her father did know all the secrets and lies, or at least the truth behind them. A sublime depression slowly creeped over her as she stood up and walked away from the bench. Still facing away from him, she said in a small voice, "Please, give me some time to absorb all this. It's a lot to take in all at once. I have so many questions, I don't know where to start."

Ben stared at his daughter's back. In an eerie echo of her other 'father', Ben said quietly, "You're my legacy." She was exactly what he had wanted in a child and he was deeply proud of her maturity and poise. He had expected interruptions, exclamations of disbelief or at least challenges to test the truth of what he was saying but instead was met with a resigned silence. Pushing himself up from the bench, he walked up to her and stood beside her without speaking.

"What does that mean? For you?"

"Part of the deal I had made with the Triumvirate was that my first born would automatically take over the Centre when I died. All it took was one look at your infant face to know I had made the right decision. Well, that was all Leith had to do as well to know you would be the future for the Centre. Seeing what a great job Catherine's done with you, makes me all the more certain." Several minutes later, father and daughter walked slowly home. 

* * *

Jarod and Kyle piled slowly out of the rented truck which their father parked behind a large commercial bus. They were relaxed and extremely hungry. The lunch their mother had made for the three of them proved to be inadequate on purpose. She wanted her men to return home with an appetite for dinner. The major spotted a general store on the way back to their cabin and stopped to pick up a few snacks. Jarod had walked out of the store and looked around at the small collection of buildings curiously. A bus was lazily pulling away as Jarod stared at it. For once he didn't have to wonder about its schedule, no one was looking for him any longer. Out of habit, he dashed back into the store and grabbed a schedule anyway, for old times sake. Stepping back into the street, he looked around again—Nothing much had changed since the first time he visited years ago after reading Catherine Parker's diary. These thoughts were in his head as he turned towards a closed restaurant and caught sight of a familiar figure. It was Ben, with dark hair. Jarod smiled glad to see another recognizable face. It was the person walking with Ben who caused Jarod to pause and stare. She looked no more than sixteen or seventeen years old, small in stature, with light brown hair. The way she carried herself was the thing that caught him.

Since she arrived, Parker kept having the feeling of being watched. Each day it grew stronger and the voices, though mostly quiet, began to chant caution softly. Today, it was different and in response, Parker looked around and found a young man staring intently at her. At first she dismissed it and turned away. If she had never seen pictures of him at that age, she wouldn't have turned around again. Jarod stood staring at her as a jubilant grin took hold of his features. She stopped abruptly and continued staring until he jogged over to her.

"Parker? Is that you?" he whispered happily, estatic that his gamble had paid off.

Dumbfounded, she nodded slightly staring at this younger version of Jarod. She wasn't sure if him showing up was a blessing or curse and as she silently tried to make up her mind, he started talking.

"Look, I don't have much time but I need to talk to you. Can you meet me here tomorrow around noon?"

Recalling herself, she looked up at him and nodded again. Then distractedly she said, "We're in a big mess, I hope you have some ideas on how to correct this. You look different," she replied disjointedly. Her thoughts were still in a muddle as she slowly backed away and returned to Ben who took in the admiring look on the boy's face and the stunned expression that seemed permanently etched on his daughter's face. Ben tried to draw out of her who the boy was but she begged off, ran into the Inn and closed herself in her room to think in peace.


	7. Pretending to be me

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for details.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 7  
****By Callisto  
******

**Lakeside Lobster shack  
****Lake Catherine, VT **

If yesterday had sent her mind reeling, than the following morning almost put her on overload. Parker had come down to breakfast to find her mother waiting for her. The second round of revelations began with Catherine telling her what had happened to her twin brother, Mason. No punches were pulled as Catherine gave her daughter the unvarnished truth.

Ben, who said the girl had taken what he told her very well and without tears or recriminations, had convinced Catherine this was the correct way to approach a very difficult subject. Maritza again listened to her mother but leaving out any hypothetical scenarios, asked some extremely difficult questions. Questions whose answers put Catherine's behavior in a less than favorable light. Clinching her teeth, to bare what was coming, Catherine was surprised that all Maritza did was smile and give her arm a gentle, affectionate squeeze. That wouldn't do, Catherine was too used to her daughter's loving bone crushing hugs and grabbing the girl, held on tight to her slight body offering comfort. Maritza returned the embrace. Mother and daughter remained in that position for some time, until Catherine held her daughter at arm's length and saw that she too had tears in her eyes. Their resulting consoling laughter encouraged Ethan to join them to see what was going on. His presence did nothing to abate their display of affection, instead it spilled over happily onto him as well.

An hour later, Parker showed up at the restaurant and waited for her fellow refuge from another era to show up. She had been surprised at Jarod's appearance but also relieved that she wasn't alone. He was a genius and somehow he would figure a way back to their reality, though Parker had to admit to herself that she wasn't sure if she could just give up her mother—not again. Catherine's presence had already begun the long and arduous duty of repairing the painfully damaging and gaping hole in Parker's emotional and spiritual psyche.

·

This was turning out to be his toughest pretend ever. Pretending to be himself with a family he barely knew was a monumental challenge. Relieved for a chance to revert to being his old self, Jarod decided to arrive a few minutes ahead of schedule. He always liked having a tactical advantage over his huntress—regardless of the situation. Her sudden appearance yesterday was a shock, though in retrospect he realized it shouldn't have been. In this place he was 20 years old, so that would place her somewhere in her late teens. What caught him up in the moment was the _way_ she looked. He had never seen her at this age, so in his mind there were two Parker's: The child who was a friend, who had explored, teased and given him his first kiss. Then there was the other, who was mature, coolly beautiful, leggy, tenacious, and bitingly witty. On the island his empathetic compassion got the best of him when he saw the beleaguered expression in her eyes. However, it was this internal confluence that he had tried to kiss.

Yesterday, he realized after getting home and having some time to himself that he was in trouble. His feelings for Parker had been shifting around a lot lately. Seeing the two Parker's merged into the person he saw yesterday left him breathless. He had been around numerous beautiful women since his escape from the Centre. A number of them were far more beautiful than Parker. What this woman—no girl—possessed was beyond his wildest desires. She looked like the intact, older version of her child-self with the oncoming vestiges of her adult-self just beginning to emerge. That slow morphing had left him practically drooling.

Acutely aware of his raging hormones, he pinned his hopes on Parker's sarcastic wit to quell any romantic aspirations on his side. With a confident smirk on his lips he walked up to find the general store deserted. He quickly stepped inside to get a couple of cold sodas and came out to find Parker on the opposite side of the road where he had spotted her yesterday. He jogged over to join her and offered her the second can of soda. In his confidence, he failed to give her proper credit due to her drastically changed circumstances and underestimated the strength of his own emotions.

His first clue that something was amiss came in the depressed look in her eyes. She accepted the beverage, then looking around nodded in the direction of a grassy parking lot next to the restaurant. She led the way to the back where some picnic benches were set up. A small brook burbled happily nearby. She sat at one of the benches and opened the can, expecting the tab to stay on instead of peeling all the way off. With a shake of her head, she placed the pull-tab in the paper bag and took a sip, trying desperately not to stare at him.

He was still a few inches short of his final growth spurt. His body indicated that he was on final approach to the way he would eventually look in adulthood. His hair was surprisingly short, given the fashions of the time they had been thrust back into. His body was lean and gloriously muscled—not the bulging, bodybuilder type, but he was graced with a musculature that allowed him to be lean at the same time. His face subtly held the last remnants of his youthful self with his adult visage almost entirely taking over. And that smile of his which never ceased to charm her, had apparently reasserted itself along with his youth. Only his eyes gave him away, there he was the for—fort, oh Hell, she still couldn't say it to herself.

"I was hoping to find you here. It was a shot in the dark but I had to try. I figured you were sucked through the portal like I was, especially given that you were closer to the middle. Were you hurt?" he asked suddenly.

Studying something in the middle distance only she could see, her gaze shifted to his youthful face and said, "No. I woke up in bed, wearing clothes too large for me, almost 25 years in the past, with my mother alive and a red-eyed tree frog perched next to me."

"A tree frog?" he asked confusedly.

"It was in a specimen jar I knocked over when I followed you inside the warehouse. Apparently, he was the only one meant to be here."

"The portal must have been designed specifically to take it back without imposing any changes, that's why it didn't regress. Whoever built the machine must have injected the frog with some sort of aging inhibitor or modified isotope. We weren't prepared so the changes affected us."

His focused look of pleased amazement suddenly irritated her. "I'm glad that makes sense to you. What I want to know is where are we and how do we get back to where we were?"

Her sharp tone snapped him out of his reverie. He looked over at her and the memory of why he had stepped into the vortex in the first place came to the forefront of his mind. "Why did you shoot at me?"

It was Parker's turn to be confused. Then recalling that Karl had indeed taken a few shots at Jarod, she shrugged and stated, "I gave that moron specific instructions that no shots were to be fired. Apparently he's taking his orders from the Lyle now."

Only slightly appeased, Jarod continued to stare at her. His posture was that of someone who was looking for any indication of where the next strike would try to land. This mind-set further irritated Parker. Her plate was full with all the revelations her parents decided to bestow on her at once. No one around here seemed to have grasped the concept of 'a bit at a time'. From what she could tell, he was the only person she could talk to without reservation. The worm in Jarod's apple was a worm she had lived with most of her life. There never had been any Sydney in her life to listen when things got confusing or too lonely. All she had was the comfort of strangers which she quickly found to be a crapshoot in a game she never wanted to play. Jarod's presence in this bizarre scenario was therefore refreshingly welcome—to a point.

In an abrupt switch, she decided for once to go for what she needed instead of what others expected from her. Quickly dialing back her anger, she explained, "I realized what you were doing early on. All I can say is thank you. Raines was getting bolder in his new Chairman's role and would've shut me down sooner rather than later. I told all my sweepers not to shoot, that you were wanted alive. Keeping the chase active, without ever catching up was keeping _me_ alive."

A deep exhalation was his answer. He nodded solemnly then asked, "Then why did you follow me?"

"The voices in my head. They kept egging me on to follow, as though you were running into danger and would need me there to help. I think that's the last time I'll be listening to them," she answered hollowly. The voices had fallen silent for now but she was certain their whispered warnings would start up again.

Jarod stared at her, wondering about the voices now. He decided he would broach that subject at another time and said, "I don't know how it occurred but you're right, we were propelled over 20 years into the past but not in the past we've already lived. We're in what's called a variant reality. It's very similar to our original lives but with subtle differences. Your mother is alive here and you're living with her instead of your father. I'm living with both my parents and siblings during a time when my family had been torn apart. The biggest bonus I can see is that the Centre doesn't seem to exist here."

"Yes it does. I checked. It's still there and after talking to my father, it's much the same as it was in our original time," she replied unhappily.

"You spoke to your father? Are you sure that was safe?"

"My real father, Jarod. My mother formally introduced me to him a few days ago. That's the reason why I'm here instead of Europe."

Jarod blinked and waited for the other shoe to drop. When he failed to respond, she looked at him and quickly read his expression, "You were right in the first place. Ben is my real father and I'm still a Parker."

"You must be relieved that Raines is nothing more than a lying piece of…," he said quietly. Personally he was glad, having Raines so closely related to someone he was falling for was inhibiting to say the least. "Do you still have your cell phone with you?" At her answering nod, he continued, "I'll need some of the components in your cell phone, combined with mine. With a little luck, I'm hoping to contact the person who created the time portal." Shortly after this brief meeting, Parker had to leave to join a family outing and Jarod had to return to his own family.

·

The next day, Parker decided to start hunting for Jarod. Given her prior experience, she was pleased it took her less than 30 minutes to locate him. Her parents had decided to take her and Ethan fishing, she begged off claiming a headache. Catherine suspected Maritza just needed some time to herself and touched Ben's arm gently to stop him from insisting that the teenager should go. He seemed deeply charmed by Maritza and wanted her around as much as possible. Catherine had been thrown by the changes in her daughter, but her love and respect for her child encouraged Catherine to give her daughter some breathing room.

At first Parker decided to call all the lodges in the area but stopped herself not knowing under what name his family was going by. He thought the Centre no longer existed but she would lay a month's salary bet that his parents were fully aware of the organization that almost got its hot little hands on their pride and joy. She then recalled the distinctive truck that had been sitting outside the little country store across from the lobster shack. After questioning the clerk for a few seconds, she easily extracted the info she needed.

It was a 20-minute walk to the Wyman cabins. Almost immediately, she spotted Jarod with his family. A sudden urge to watch him play with a young girl who was probably his sister was too strong. Eventually he looked up as though aware there was someone watching him. The girl ran back into the house laughing while Jarod walked over. Parker felt her heart pause slightly at the appreciative smile that appeared on his face at the sight of her. The last time she had seen that expression of his so often was when they were children growing up lonely in the Centre.

"Hi, what's up?" He asked as he walked up.

"Nothing. I had some free time and thought about you," she said with a nervous sigh. "Dig the Angel Flights. There isn't anyone around here or really anywhere that I can have an intelligent conversation with." At Jarod's furrowed brow, she waved off his curiosity. "Yeah, I can talk to my mother but nowadays every time I do another bone comes flying out of my family closet like a scud missile. I never thought I would say this but frankly, if I hear another revelation I'll scream."

Jarod couldn't help chuckling at her words and her sarcastic tone of voice. He understood the loneliness. The luxury of completely relaxing and letting down his guard never presented itself. Despite having his family around and learning about his roots, he could never fully explain himself, always on guard not to let loose with an inappropriate anachronism.

"Why don't we go for a walk? That way we won't be disturbed," he offered.

"I just hiked up here from the Inn. Is there somewhere we can just sit and talk?" she asked while looking around curiously.

He nodded and led the way into the nearby forest. The going was a bit rough until they came upon a small clearing. Parker looked around and listened to the sounds of the birds chirping in the trees around them. Smiling she sat in the fragrant grass and released the breath she had been holding. Her tension was slowly abating as she glanced at Jarod, who kept staring at her. The warmth that the adult Ethan had noticed about her was slowly becoming apparent to Jarod, who settled near her to see what other surprises she would produce.

"What's it been like for you? You know, finding yourself over 25 years in a past you've never lived in?" she asked quietly, truly interested in his response. It was a good thing she was, because his answer took over an hour to relate. Often during his long answer, she would start laughing. At one point, she was laughing so hard; Jarod stopped talking just to enjoy hearing her amusement. This marked the first time since they were children that she was curious about his feelings and him for himself alone. When she finally got herself under control, he slowly continued with the story, allowing her to catch her breath. That is until the next amusing misunderstanding in which he explained his confusion over what was now his ex-girlfriend's baffled jealousy at his disinterestedness. This story produced another round of laughter and Jarod looking at his situation objectively, joined in with her. Their first day together in their shared past was spent enjoying each other's company and the realization for Jarod that it was as he thought it would be—her mother's presence in her life would have an immediate effect—one that was a pleasure to witness and as a result he became hopelessly infatuated.


	8. Changes: seen and some unknown

**Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.**

****

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 8  
****By Callisto**

****

_**Alvear Hotel – Present  
**__**Buenos Aires, Argentina**_

Norwood was certain he was on to something. He had found a good lead and was following it in the same manner he thought an American private detective would adopt. Now, Norwood was brilliant. In some cases, he would rival Jarod easily where it came down to quantum mechanics and mathematics but overall he was seriously lacking. The lead Norwood found a reasonably bright child would have been able to run down in half the time it took this guy. Talk and gossip had quickly turned into urban legend about the beautiful angel who had appeared out of nowhere and prevented a murder from occurring. The story had taken on enormous proportions by the time Norwood haphazardly stumbled upon the obvious. He asked his questions with a modicum of discretion and was finally directed to the Alvear Hotel. This swanky hotel was bustling with tourists. A regular hive of activity with all sorts of shady types hanging around waiting for any hapless, half-wit would-be detective to stumble in and announce that he knew what happened to the missing heroine.

Norwood was quick enough to recognize that he shouldn't just walk up to the front desk and ask his questions. The information the vendors in the University plaza had freely given him implied that this woman was possibly dangerous. With admirable patience, he waited until he was able to find a busboy trying to sneak in a break before the next crush of tourists came crashing through. A few pesos in hand emboldened him to approach the weary worker and inquire about the story he had heard in the plaza. Without any prompting, the bored man told Norwood that the woman and her servants had indeed stayed here but that she had mysteriously disappeared. It was suspected that perhaps the man whose head she had bashed in worked for the government, but he didn't know. Norwood listened to this and asked which room the woman stayed in and if the police had already searched it.

The busboy, figuring he had run into a late-bloomer sensationalist, stated she had been on the 11th floor but that a contingent of strange men in business suits had moved in and were asking many questions. Norwood was curious about this last bit of information but it failed to register properly on his one-track mind. Nodding distractedly, he handed the busboy the bills in his hand, without being asked, and went into the building from the employee entrance.

Once on the 11th floor, it didn't take long for Norwood to find the woman's room. Dark-suited men and women kept entering and exiting the suite as though it was the hub of a massive operation. The bumbling, would-be detective openly passed the guarded door twice, before the sweepers decided to take notice and drag him inside. It was Karl's replacement, Sam whom the spotters brought the hapless Norwood to meet.

"Why are you here?" Sam asked in his most intimidating voice. He, like the rest of her team, was worried about Miss Parker and wanted to know for certain that she was safe. The way things were going he doubted they would ever see her again, which was fine with him. Her safety could only be assured if she stayed missing and Sam doubted this moron had much to offer.

"I heard the stories in the plaza about a beautiful lady coming to the aid of a _porteño, _or local and I came to see for myself if they were true," Norwood replied nervously.

Sam stared at the kid. It was obvious from his nervousness that he knew more than what he was saying. Sam decided to continue questioning this nerdy looking kid for a while longer before turning him over to Willie. He wanted to make sure the kid was a true player before putting him through that kind of wringer.

_**Wyman Cabins – Past  
**__**Lake Catherine, VT **_

Another couple days passed in which Parker and Jarod spent as much time together as possible—this was achieved by a great deal of wiliness on their parts to avoid the usual restrictions. Jarod was taking nothing for granted as he enjoyed Parker's company and the deepening of his feelings for her. For her part, Parker realized how much she missed not having a friend or just someone to talk to freely. To her, this time spent with Jarod was much like an extension of their commiserating late-night telephone conversations. The ease she felt while being around him insidiously became the norm, so when he tentatively leaned in for a kiss, she didn't resist. Like on Carthis, she was surprised that he could ever consider her as a potential lover. On the island, the weakening influence of her training had been tempered by her father's presence. Now, with their extreme, bizarre circumstances, resulting loneliness and the need to relate with someone her true age, she kept coming back and subtly encouraging Jarod's interest.

Facing her own urges became necessary one day when they met at a barn on the outskirts of town. Sharing a seat on a bale of hay, they were talking quietly about Parker's experiences with her mother. What she couldn't or rather wouldn't express were the unexpected changes she felt going on beneath the surface. Being tactile was her mother's habit, along with numerous acts of casual kindness and displays of affection had all acted on Parker's spirit the way water nourishes and feeds a thirsty plant. It was because of this exposure and its consistency, which was the exact opposite of her prior life and training, that she finally pushed aside the last of her reservations and thoroughly surprising him, she firmly took hold of his smoothly shaven jaw and kissed him firmly. For the second time in his life, she had surprised him with that move and just as when they were kids he happily went along. She pulled away slowly and looked at him, instead of triumph, her eyes revealed a bit of uncertainty.

Jarod smiled, as the sound of voices outside caused him to look away. The barn had a stable nearby where, for a small fee, vacationers could spend the day on horseback. Jarod took her hand and tried to lead her up a rickety ladder for some added privacy as the heretofore silent voices in her head began to loudly chant warnings to her. She stopped abruptly and looked around until she found what they needed—a large stack of hay bales behind which they could hide. Tightening her grip on his hand, she pulled him to this hiding place and motioned for him to remain silent. They waited. For several minutes nothing happened, then the soft sound of a tentative footfall rewarded her caution. Silently, she crouched down while Jarod peered around the hay bale to find a man only a couple years older than he had entered the barn and was looking up.

Careful not to make any unnecessary noise, the sweeper listened for the sounds he expected to hear in the loft. All was silent as frustration began to grip his patience. He had seen the girl through his binoculars and was certain she was the target he had been sent to retrieve. They hadn't told him that she was beautiful—just willful. Anticipation reasserted itself as he reached out to grab hold of the ladder with one hand while extracting a Sig Sauer 9mm pistol with his other.

Parker wasted no time, the voices were chattering in her head again. At her feet was a heavy metal tool used to hoist and reposition the heavy bales. She gripped the tool securely in her hands and waited for an opportunity. Out of her line of vision, Jarod's eyes grew wide with alarm and shock. He recognized the man who started up the ladder. When the young man had gotten up only two of the steps, Parker silently crept up behind him. The man's training immediately kicked in as the tiny sound of a footfall crinkled behind him. Before he could consciously make a move a tall figure revealed itself from behind a hay bale. The man started to point his weapon at the figure when an agonizing pain caused him to lose consciousness.

Parker looked down at the man crumpled at her feet. He seemed vaguely familiar but she couldn't quite place him. A pale-looking Jarod joined her and continued staring at their captive.

"Do you know who he is?" she asked, never bothering to question her actions or the voices in her mind that prompted her.

"Yes. He's trouble with a capital C. We need to dispose of him as quickly as possible."

She narrowed her eyes at his reference to the Centre but refrained from asking any questions—yet. She began searching the barn, eventually coming up with some rope. Jarod quickly took it from her and with Parker's help began tying the man securely, until his body was crisscrossed with bindings. Jarod stood up to examine their handiwork.

"Are you sure he's from the Centre?"

"Yes. And the farther we can manage to get him from here the better," he replied grimly. At her puzzled, irritated expression, he said, "He's a pretender—marginal but one of the most amoral I've ever met—even more so than Alex. Alex was nuts and knew it, this guy isn't crazy—just evil."

At the mention of the name of the man who had shot her 'father' and would've killed her if Jarod hadn't interfered, Parker involuntarily shuddered. The crazed look of unhinged depravity that was Alex was permanently etched in her mind.

"What about the bus?" she asked quietly.

"The bus?" he answered slowly. The sight of the large commuter bus that had been parked in front of the general store sprang readily to mind. A sly smile graced his face as Jarod looked from his watch back down at the unconscious man. "Perfect. There's one leaving in about 20 minutes." Thinking quickly, he looked around in vain for a few seconds before climbing the ladder to the upper loft. There he found what he was looking for—an old worn blanket. He tossed the heavy cloth to the ground and followed it down, careful to avoid getting any splinters in his hands. He draped it over the man, completely covering him.

"That should keep him from knowing for certain who caught him. I need to go home to find something to stuff him in, will you be okay here on your own?"

"Of course. But go over to the general store instead. There'll be fewer questions and I have an idea that'll help us get him past the driver."

Jarod nodded and sprinted off. It felt good and natural scheming with his old friend once again. She was almost her old self but nothing could bring back that sweet little girl who cried on his shoulder after they had gone looking for death and found a dying Faith.

Parker walked away from her captive the second Jarod left. With calm deliberation she walked up to a smallish tree and removed several leafy tender branches. Her mother's voice, or rather her grandmother's voice was still in her head protecting her. Curiously it was Catherine who, on Parker's first day of waking up in sci-fi land, confirmed that she too looked and sounded like _her_ mother. Uncomfortable with having the man's blanket covered body exposed to the open barn door, she took hold of his bound feet and dragged him into the shadows. This produced an agonized male groan. She was about to hit him again when Jarod showed up.

The pretender grinned at his newest ally as she glared balefully at her quarry. Fortunately, the bored store clerk was only mildly curious and was more than happy to help him find just about everything he needed. Producing a heavy tarp, Jarod rolled the body onto its side and uncovered him. It took 20 minutes before he was satisfied with the final result. The man was bound, with tape covering both his eyes and mouth. The green tarp wrapped up the package neatly as he wiped sweat from his brow. To complete the picture and fool anyone giving their package only a cursory glance, Parker placed the branches so they were strategically sticking out, giving the overall appearance of a small sapling tree being shipped. Jarod smiled, thoroughly satisfied with her creation.

They asked the driver if he had room for a large package they wanted to send and inquired how long would it take to reach the end of his route. He told them the bus itself would eventually wind up in Florida which encouraged them to eagerly load the entire mess into the practically empty luggage hold. Afterwards, Parker approached the driver inside the general store, smiled sweetly and inquired if the driver wouldn't mind leaving her Aunt Dorothy's birthday present in the bus luggage hold until she showed up to claim it. The driver hesitated, then smiled brightly at the $20 bill she was handing him, assuring her that he would keep her secret up to very the end. The two watched as the bus lumbered on slowly to start its winding route through New England and points south.

"You really think that little container of fruit juice will keep him going?"

"He knows survival tactics. The slit I cut into the tape will allow him access to the straw and keep him hydrated long enough for him to catch someone's attention the next time they reach in to get their luggage. Which shouldn't happen for another few hundred miles. By then our driver will have forwarded the address to the fresh driver and no one will know the difference."

"So who was he and why did you turn white when you got a good look at him?"

"His name is Damon. He had misused some of my sims for profit, creating more misery while murdering thousands. He's an indiscriminate murderer who has no difficulty committing an atrocious act just to make a point. Comparatively, he makes Alex seem mildly dysfunctional."

"I remember that. We found a DSA showing your run-in with him at the Centre. He seemed to enjoy killing that mentally retarded guy."

"What worries me is that he was looking for you," Jarod stated with calm certainty. "I was never raised at the Centre in this reality, so he wouldn't know I existed, but he does know your father and Raines. My only guess is that he was sent to find you and I was in the way."

"He was just going to kill you for being with me? My God, Jarod," she said with deepening disgust.

"There's only one person I can think of who would've sent him," he said turning to look at her.

"My so-called-father," she answered with a sinking heart. It figured the minute she made a halting move on Jarod, Mr. Parker would come crashing in to stop her. "When he realizes that his kidnapping attempt went awry, he'll want to show up in person. I'll have to warn Ben, there's no way around it. He's the only one who can use the Triumvirate to get my uncle to back off."

Jarod nodded solemnly, noting the casual reclassification she used to refer to the man she always knew and loved as a father. He didn't want her to leave. His heart had been touched in a way that he knew no one else would ever match. His need for her had grown and he didn't want to lose her to her uncle—again.

History can be devastating. Had either known what the events were supposed to be in this time frame, they would've realized that they had saved Parker a great deal of pain and heartache. Not what they had foreseen in her return to the waiting arms of her Uncle, Mr. Parker but that destiny in this time had another mate in mind for her—Damon. He was supposed to kidnap her but on the way back to Blue Cove, he would've had time enough to find Miss Parker extremely attractive, intelligent and angrily disillusioned by her mother's revelations. The resulting relationship then eventual marriage would've been murderously disastrous.

Like a tiny pebble thrown in the middle of a large quiet lake, this incident rippled throughout the timeline. When they changed history in the variant reality, they also changed it across the board. Without any fanfare or warning, the long, hot summer Parker had spent with Tommy Tanaka when she had been seventeen was effortlessly erased. Her memories and all those associated with it were neatly adjusted to the new reality where her time in Japan had been enjoyed alone. When Lyle needed a translator, Mr. Parker had instead sent the mysterious Mr. Cox along with an approved translator to seal the deal, opting to keep his daughter in the dark about his lethal, underhanded dealings. The result was the same—Jarod still stole the money from the account Sydney warned him had been set up by Raines to receive it. Norwood's professors had been right after all.


	9. Meet the family

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statement.  
**Author's note: **All the action in this chapter occurs in the past.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 9  
****By Callisto  
  
**

**_Wyman Cabins  
Lake Catherine, VT_**

With a surprising ease, Parker found she had slipped back into her old habit of seeking Jarod out. Typically, she would show up and he would arrange to get away by himself. It was during one of these times, while they were lying in the grass of the small clearing that Kyle walked up on them. Kyle had become concerned by Jarod's frequent absences. Wondering what his older brother was up to, Kyle noticed him walking into the clearing. After an hour had passed, Jarod still hadn't reappeared. Curiosity getting the best of him, Kyle followed Jarod and was surprised by what he saw.

In the clearing he found his brother lying next to a girl sharing a laugh. They looked comfortable with each other as Jarod held her arm, caressing it and gently playing with her fingers. They fell silent as he approached. The scene was disturbingly intimate and Kyle was on the brink of leaving them when he decided it was time his brother introduced his new girlfriend to his family.

"Hey there, Bro', I finally found you. How about a rematch of our tennis game?" Kyle said loudly as he drew closer. He walked boldly up to them and stared into his brother's face.

Jarod stared back at him puzzled. He knew Kyle had seen him walk into the small copse, but he was wondering at the annoyed, almost irritated tone of voice Kyle had adopted. "I don't feel like it, maybe later."

By this time Kyle diverted his attention to Jarod's female companion, whose hand was still in his grasp. Kyle was caught completely off guard, he thought she would be another uninteresting redheaded bimbo like Asia, but this one was extremely pretty. She had long, honey blonde hair. Her face was pretty but held aspects that strayed directly into beautiful. Her eyes turned out to be her best feature, a changeable gray color that held a knowing amusement in them.

"Hello there. You must be Kyle."

Kyle swallowed hard and said nothing. This girl looked to be no more than his age but the way she talked and acted was too mature. Her voice held a surety of poise that he never detected in anyone his age, oddly leaving him at a disadvantage. The girl sat up and looked up at him; the light from the sun served to further lighten the color of her eyes and cast the illusion of translucency. After a long pause, she smiled at him and said, "Seems like the cat's got your tongue, my name's Maritza." Holding her other hand out to him she asked, "Would you mind giving me a hand up?"

Automatically, he responded and assisted her. She was shorter than he expected, somehow it seemed that she should be taller. Kyle watched her as she brushed grass off her dress and shook any trailing bits out of her hair. Jarod had also gotten up. Their privacy had been invaded and he would have to wait another day before talking to her. He cursed the era they had been thrown back into--utterly cell phoneless. She had been amusing him with recalling her mother's physically challenging expectations of her. Pretending in this reality wasn't limited only to him. Parker also had plenty pretending to do in this reality. Namely, Parker learned that she had become an accomplished pianist and a great, though disinterested dancer. Both skills she had allowed to fall to the wayside after her mother's death. Here, Catherine was alive, shocked and exasperated by Parker's seeming amnesia especially when it came to practice sessions for the piano. Her coach was equally appalled by her sudden inability to perform at the same level as she had achieved in the very recent past. Kyle's interrupting presence caused her to abruptly stop talking.

Staring at his dumbfounded brother, Jarod quickly noticed that Parker's charm had mesmerized Kyle as well. He gave a short amused huff and helped Parker pick some stray grass from her hair. It was softer than he thought and surreptitiously he ran his fingers through it, enjoying the texture. Parker turned to see Jarod self-consciously drop his hand from her hair out of the corner of her eye. With a raised eyebrow and lips twitching into another smile she said, "I better be getting home now. My mother will have a fit if she finds out that I've been gone for so long. I'm supposed to be practicing for my big debut."

"I'll walk you home," Jarod offered but Parker stopped him.

"That's alright. The last thing I need is for her to figure out I've been hanging out with a boy. Lord, I don't think I'll ever get used to this. See you tomorrow, Jarod. Nice meeting you, Silent Kyle."

Both brothers watched her leave in silence. Once her figure disappeared into the forest, Jarod looked at Kyle's mesmerized face and laughed. "Yeah, I know. She has that effect on most men."

"Nice legs. Where the heck did you meet her?" Kyle asked finally finding his voice.

"After our fishing trip, I saw her walking across the street with her father," Jarod answered as he turned to return to their cabin. He had walked along to find Kyle wasn't beside him; instead his younger brother was lagging behind, still trying to catch a glimpse of Parker. With a laugh, Jarod said half-jokingly, "Hey, bro' just remember, I saw her first."

·

Another youthful habit Parker found herself falling into was rising early to start the day. With a vitality brought on by burgeoning health and a lack of threats to her life and its accompanying stress, she was up at the crack of dawn and in time to give Ben some distressing news.

"It looks like it's going to be a lovely day," she stated with quiet reverence as she took a sip of coffee from a large mug while gazing at the sunrise through the kitchen window.

"Yes, it does. I planned on taking your mother out on a breakfast picnic."

"Don't worry, Ethan and I will stay out of your way. I can only imagine how much catching up you two have to do." With a heavy sigh she continued, "Ben, something happened the other day that you need to be aware of. In light of what you told me about my Uncle, it's probably imperative." A late night spent rehearsing this speech, served her well as she told him her carefully edited story striped of any Centre-inspired insider jargon. When she was done, she looked intently into her father's face.

"You said he pulled a weapon on you in the barn?"

Here a choice had to be made and wanting to start off on the right track with her father, she decided to tell the truth. "He was pointing it at a friend of mine. Luckily I had already crept up behind him and hit him over the head before he could shoot."

There were many aspects of her story that worried Ben as he began to pace the length of the kitchen. Her voice was steady and sure but he felt certain that she was holding back something important. "And this 'friend' of yours just went along and helped you wrap up this sweeper and load him in the cargo hold of a bus?" At her artfully puzzled expression, Ben explained, "A 'sweeper' is many things in the Centre. They're everything from bodyguards to kidnappers, assassins to gophers."

"And what would a think tank corporation need with _assassins_?" she countered smoothly. The closed look on Ben's face reassured her that he would reveal the uglier side of the Centre to his 'legacy' only when absolutely necessary. "My friend is a boy with a crush on me and he doesn't want me to leave, so he helped get rid of the man. Will we have to leave soon?"

"I'll make some calls. But how can you be certain this man even works for the Centre? Perhaps this was something that should've been handed over to the police."

Long years of ingrained training made Parker frown at his suggestion. Then, as though it had just occurred to her, she reached into her pocket and retrieved a small laminated card and handed it over.

Ben took the ID card from her fingers and stared at the man's face and his level of security clearance. At this level there wasn't a doubt who he worked for—either Leith or that ghoul of a man, Raines. "Excellent. This is exactly what I needed. The Triumvirate issued a hands-off order, so they won't be too happy at the thought of Leith ignoring them. For now, enjoy your vacation. You're having a good time I take it?" he asked with an uncertain smile.

"Yes, of course. It's lovely here. Thanks Ben. I'll go and get Ethan and we'll help you cook Mama's breakfast before we get out of the way."

Ben watched as his eldest child smiled, left the kitchen and bounded lightly up the staircase. Her poise and quick thinking made him shake his head in wonder. It would take a strength like hers to clean up the seamier side of the Centre but now he was starting to want something different for her—a normal life. With a start he realized this was the first time she looked at him like he was her father, fully expecting him to resolve this problem and to protect her from any harm. It felt scary and good.

·

An hour later, Parker arrived at the Abernathy home. She rang the doorbell and waited for someone to answer. The noisy clamor behind the door told her a very active family lived here. Curbing her natural impatience, Parker rang the bell again and perched herself on the porch railing. Eventually a beautiful redheaded woman answered the door. Realizing who she was, Parker immediately jumped down and addressed Jarod's mother.

"Hi, my name is Maritza. I'm a friend of Jarod's. Is he home?" she asked with careful politeness.

Margaret, like her son Kyle, stared at Parker for several long seconds before responding. "Yes he is. Please come in." The door was opened wider to admit the young guest. With great intrepidness, Parker walked into Jarod's latest lair. The smell inside was wonderful; bread was baking and permeated the entire room. Kyle was there and nodded his hello to her as she waited near the door. Margaret told Kyle to get Jarod and then offered Parker something to drink. The day was already hot and she gratefully accepted. Jarod finally appeared as she was taking her first horrified sip of Kool-aid.

"Par--umm Maritza. What brings you up here so early?" Jarod asked laughingly as she peered incredulously into her glass.

"There's someone I wanted you to meet," she replied after wincing and swallowing hard. When she saw the look of immediate curiosity spark in his face, she smiled quickly and opened the door. Poking her head out she said, "Come here. Now!" Her commanding tone of voice had him very curious and he approached her to see whom she was speaking to. Almost immediately a small body collided into him.

She pulled the small arm closer and placing a hand delicately on the boy's chest she said formally, "Jarod, this is _my_ brother, Ethan. Ethan, this is Jarod. He's a friend of mine."

Jarod's eyes widened as he looked down at the small child with anticipation. Jarod's family watching carefully wondered at his apparent pleasure in meeting the boy. Jarod smoothly dropped to one knee to look the child in the eye and greeted him. This younger version of Ethan reflected everything in this reality—similar but with subtle differences. Here, Ethan was basically the same only with brilliant blue eyes. It would be interesting to see if adulthood would impose the changes on his features that it eventually would on his sister's. Jarod looked up with a large smile at Parker, who nodded and smiled back.

"Ethan, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. Your sister has told me a lot about you."

"How do you do?" Ethan replied dutifully and held out his hand formally.

Jarod was as fond of Ethan as Parker. Ignoring the boy's hand, Jarod scooped the child under one arm and ruffled his hair playfully. Ethan couldn't help but laugh and Jarod furthered the boy's amusement by tickling his neck lightly. Ethan was sold; his sister's friend was a hit with him. When Jarod put the boy down, he looked at Parker gratefully. "Thanks for bringing him around."

"Of course," she replied with a smile that quickly faded as she caught the concerned looks of his family. She handed Ethan her glass, which the child gulped down eagerly and waited for Jarod's lead. Jarod turned around to see what had affected her mood and noticed his parents' blatantly curiosity.

"I'm sorry, where are my manners? Mom, Dad, this is Maritza Ferrer. I met her after our fishing trip a couple weeks ago. Maritza's family is vacationing here, too."

"It's nice meeting you at last," the major said while, holding his hand out.

Parker shook it and answered, "Likewise."

Kyle, in all his impertinence asked, "Hey, are you looking forward to school this term?"

Parker frowned thoughtfully and asked, "School?"

"Yeah, you know. Large musty buildings, lots of people our age and teachers thrown in for amusement?" he answered with a laugh.

The confusion stayed on her face until he mentioned her age. Understanding cleared her expression as she answered, "Oh yes, school. I'm actually looking forward to the next term and doing some clerking as well. What about yourself?"

"Really? Clerking, huh?" he asked. His amusement turned to vague disappointment as he assumed, along with his parents, that she would be working at a grocery store during her last year of high school. "I'm in my junior year at State."

"My under-graduate days were a blast, you can't match the freedom," Said she. Finally realization dawned on her and she gave him a toothy grin. "You thought I was still an undergraduate didn't you? Been there, done that and got the diploma. Thank God that's behind me. No, I meant I'm in _graduate_ school. Next term, I'm finishing up some elective courses and there's a judge back home who promised me a spot on his staff as a clerk," she said quietly. The paperwork she had found in her dresser drawer had explained her educational status. She would do whatever was necessary to avoid any finals. As in her previous life, she'd finished school at a breakneck pace, graduating from college at 16 years old. This time around her father wasn't there to discourage and off-handedly denigrate her choice of profession by saying dismissively, "The world's full of lawyers, Angel. Business is where the action will be. Do that and make your father proud." As usual she caved into his wishes.

Jarod saw the looks on their faces. The major was looking at his youngest son, slowly shaking his head. If Kyle had applied himself rather than attending every party fraternity row had to offer, he too would be in graduate school instead of staring at Jarod's girlfriend with defeated chagrin. Parker had misunderstood them and in doing so made her assertions all the more credible, without effort. _He_ knew they were thinking high school, not college. Jarod had made it his business, in the other reality, to know as much about her past as possible. She apparently had finished her education in much the same manner as before but now he wanted to hear more about her plans, though in private. 'How to get her by herself,' he thought in a bit of a quandary trying to figure it out, until Ethan assisted him.

"Mari, are we still going to the lake?" he asked bored with the conversation and impatient to spend some real time with his sister. He handed the glass back to her empty.

"How would you like to go out _on_ the lake, Ethan?" Jarod asked quickly.

"Super, can we Mari?" he asked eagerly.

"I suppose so," she answered slowly. Looking up at Jarod, who gave her a smirk, Parker looked back down at her younger brother and said, "As long as there's no standing, rocking or diving. And under no circumstances will there be any skinny-dipping. Why Ben decided to explain that to you is beyond me," she said to Ethan. Then turning she said to both Margaret and the major, " It was nice meeting you." In response, Ethan pulled her out of the house, eager to get started on their new adventure.

Jarod raised his eyebrows and smiled at his parents with a bit of smug triumph. If anything could've been designed to allay their fears over what would happen on the trip, Parker's comments and Ethan's presence should.

Much later that day, Jarod returned alone and glowing from his outing. Though he still didn't understand Alex's reference to Parker's importance to his world, what he did understand was that she was fast becoming a fixture in his desires. He had rented a boat and brought along fishing tackle and rods for the three of them. Carefully guiding their boat down stream he tied it to the pier where he had fished prior with his father and Kyle. Soon after, Parker speaking in Japanese explained how at the airport she had dialed the number she knew by heart and spoke with Sydney. He sounded much younger and his Flemish accent was quite pronounced but she was certain it was him. When she asked for his brother Jacob instead, Sydney replied absentmindedly that he too was busy, then demanded to know her name. Parker who was studying her watch didn't allow the call to go over 30 seconds and ended it abruptly. Jarod sat back in the boat and thought about his mentor. It was good to know that Sydney was alive and well, along with his twin brother.

The heat of the day worked it's magic on all three of them. Ethan began winding down though he kept a wary eye on his fishing pole. Parker leaned back in the shaded boat and answered his questions as well as having her own answered. Jarod explained that his mother had told him he resembled her brother but otherwise was a duplicate of his father at the same age. Parker explained that the voices remained in her head though after they shipped Damon to the nether parts of the country, the voices hadn't been bothering her lately. Jarod listened with a great deal of interest as she sketched a picture of her life with her mother and though she griped at the increased structure to her personal life, he could tell she was basking in her mother's love and interest in her—something that had rarely been, if ever, present with her father.


	10. No more interruptions

Disclaimer: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.  
**Author's note: **All scenes in this chapter occur in the past.

Time to Consider  
Chapter 10  
By Callisto

Webster's field  
Lake Catherine, VT

Finally, they had some time alone without younger siblings or inquisitive parents watching their every move. Curiously, they were responding in the same way true teenagers do when placed in simular circumstances. Spiritually, emotionally and mentally they were still in their middle adult years. It was the physical part that held them back and too often they forgot about their appearance.

For instance, one evening in answer to Ben's offer to get her something to drink, Parker absently requested a scotch on the rocks, his startled response and her mother's deeply shocked face to her casual yet expectant attitude caused Parker to rub wearily at her forehead. Jarod was no more immune, his years away from the Centre had spoiled him into enjoying a certain amount of freedom. Whenever he grew restless it had become his habit to take off alone at any hour. This newest wrinkle in 20 year old Jarod's usual habits caused his father to wonder, prompting inquiries into what he was doing and where he was going. The simple act of grabbing the car keys would raise questions and eyebrows. Apparently in this reality, Jarod found he must have been well versed in all the rules or simply complied. From the confused disbelief on Kyle's face, he surmised that the practice of detection avoidance had been something of an art for him.

Today, they wandered in an open field near the Inn, rapt in conversation as Parker explained to Jarod what Ben had told her about his connection to the Centre and Mr. Parker. She nodded thoughtfully at his questions, since they mirrored hers. Just as she was about to launch into what her mother had told her about Lyle, a summer squall suddenly decided to treat them with a downpour. Soaking wet, they ran to the nearest shelter, the Inn. She wanted to keep Jarod to herself and took him into the mudroom. From there she would take him up the back stairs to the deserted storage attic above the guests' rooms. On the way there, she paused by the linen closet and borrowed a few of the largest towels and a couple comforters, shoving the lot into Jarod's arms. They climbed the stairs and entered the room. Jarod placed the bundle of towels and blankets on the bed and looked around at the dimly lit space. Weak light suddenly filled the room from the dusty curtains Parker pushed aside.

"We need to get these wet clothes off before we catch cold. Do you want the bathroom?" she asked briskly.

"No, you go ahead," he responded as he slowly peeled off his wet t-shirt and kicked off his shoes. The sight of his muscular torso made Parker's eyes widen and before he could catch her ogling, she turned and went into the bath to change. Jarod would have never seen her admiration because he had already turned his head. It was while he was removing his wet jeans that he found a small package in his pants pocket. He stared at it wondering how it had gotten there, eventually figuring that this was an example of Kyle's sense of humor.

She found a terry cloth robe hanging on the door hook and put it on. When she came out, Jarod was standing at the far side of the bed with a large towel wrapped around his slender hips and another towel drying his hair which was sticking straight up in spots.

Parker shook her head in mild disgust, despite his tousled hair; he still looked like he stepped out of a GQ magazine. He felt her scrutiny and looked up with the same smile he used to give her when they were kids. Unable to resist, Parker walked over to him and boldly opened the towel around his waist. Jarod was nonplussed while she stared at him for a few seconds before allowing her hungrily appraising gaze to make it's way to his eyes. With the opened towel still in her grasp, she took a few steps back as she mischievously smiled at him, then began using it to pull him closer towards her. He inched forwards slowly, while he held her gaze. When she had pulled him within reach, she leaned forward and was met half way in a tentative kiss.

"I'm not sure if I can continue to do this," he said quietly when he sensuously pulled away from their kiss.

"Why not?"

"I have excellent reserves of control—as a rule, but lately I'm not so certain."

"Umm, trying to control the outcome again?" she smiled with what he thought was an overly seductive grin.

It was then he decided to give her _that_ smile again—the one that had the same effect on her since she was twelve—a barely controllable impulse to kiss him. As she was giving in to her urge and dropping his towel in favor of cupping his bare butt cheek, Jarod placed a hand on her hip while his other arm reached around and pulled her towards him and off balance. She broke the kiss as she fell gracelessly on top of him on the bed, just as he planned. The surprised sound she made at the back of her throat made him chuckle as he tightened his grasp around her and looked into her eyes.

"You look very beautiful, Miss Parker," he said in an aroused deepened voice as he glanced from her softly curling, damp hair into her eyes.

She had heard that tone before and knew she was equally aroused. Before they could go any further, she grasped his jaw firmly in one hand and looked fiercely into his eyes. "This isn't Vegas or anywhere else, Jarod. What happens here will follow us. I'm still the same person who's dogged your steps for the past 6 years. We make love now, you're making it with _me_, no one else, no illusions."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," he replied equally seriously as he unwrapped her robe.

With deliberation, they gently explored each other. When he could hold out no longer, Jarod deftly put on the condom he retrieved from his pant's pocket. They were a middle-aged couple who made love to each other with a surety of personal knowledge that came from their years and made the most of their indefatigable adolescent bodies. Some time later, sweat-glistened and breathing heavily, the two separated sated. Well, at least she was sated, Jarod felt like a million bucks and knew after a few minutes rest, he could continue. He knew he had built up a fantasy in his mind of the extreme pleasure he anticipated from making love to her. The experience, though a bit uneven being their first time together, fulfilled his expectations. A brilliant smile touched his lips as he thought about making love to her again. He vowed to himself that she wouldn't leave the room without him pleasuring her to the point of exhaustion.

Parker looked over and noticed the happily horny smile on his face. She smiled again, marveling at how deeply she craved his touch. This was a long time in coming and she enjoyed every minute of it. But her life held too many disappointments for her to revel in the pleasure without caution. Disappointment had ruled her life too long and fate had snatched too much away to catch her off guard. It seemed every person she learned to love, left her in someway, usually by dying. With a stab of regret she reigned in her euphoria and reasserted the wall around her heart.

Exerting her resolve she started speaking, determined to tell her closest and last remaining friend the burden that was weighing on her mind. "Before the rain and outright lust interrupted me, I was telling you about Lyle. Jarod, this whole thing is so bizarre. By the way, before I get into all that, have you found a way for us to get back?" She rolled onto her side and propped herself on an elbow to look at him.

Jarod copied her and answered, "No, but I'm developing a device for us to communicate with whoever sent us here. He might be able to figure out a way to produce a portal here for us to step through and back to our own time. There is one catch though."

He remained silent, watching her face intently. When it became apparent that he wouldn't continue, she asked impatiently, "What?"

"When we imposed ourselves on this time, our originals that were _here_ ceased to exist, they're gone. So, if we return to our own time, it will be like we disappeared into thin air here. Are you sure you want to put your parents through that?"

"I didn't know," she replied quietly.

"It's another factor we both must consider before contacting the mad scientist who put us here. In our own time, we simply disappeared without a trace. There's no way for anyone to follow us without knowing the exact place in time we arrived. The device I'm designing using our cell phones and a few other components will act like a transponder, much like the ones found in aircraft. It will emit a signal that the time machine should be able to pick up. That's the only way anyone can find us."

Parker remained quiet and began going over her options. Everything was starting to boil down to pros and cons. She would need time to consider all the options open to her before coming to a decision. Her main motivation for returning had been removed by Jarod. She thought by returning to her original time that the original in this reality would magically reappear—but that would never happen. She would miss her mother and Ben terribly. Besides the adult Ethan, there wasn't much holding her to the original timeline. Shaking her head at the dizzying array of effects on those in this time as well as the other, she decided instead to continue with her story.

Jarod watched her quickly mull through what he had told her. He had time to weigh the pros and cons while he mapped the schematics for the time-variant transponder. His conclusion was that he would remain. Too much had been stolen from him in his original time. If he effectively disappeared than the pressures on his family would slowly disappear as well, allowing them the breathing room to reconnect and live their lives in peace. For him, he would gain all that had been stolen from him: His family, as well as some of the years and he held out hope, the woman as well.

"My mother told me she had accepted the lie that Lyle had been still-born. But it took her only a few years to figure out that Mr. Parker had lied to her. They had a violent argument, a real knock down, drag out fight and it was during this fight that he struck her for the first time. He threatened to take me as well, if she didn't stop making waves about it. In desperation, she knew she needed to be away from him to give herself some time to think but she was afraid for me. So, she parked me in a kiddie boarding school with strict instructions that no one was allowed to remove me unless it was her personally. For added protection, she failed to inform my fath—um Mr. Parker about my whereabouts.

"She headed up here, to elicit help from my real father. Ben already knew he was my father, she was up front with him about that and came up soon after I was born to show him the daughter he would never be allowed to raise. Apparently, he understood her reasoning and only insisted on getting yearly pictures of me. Well, after this last revelation, she finally decided she needed some help in getting my twin out of Raines' clutches—some things didn't change from the other reality at all.

"When she told Ben what had happened, he was equally upset. The real bombshell that rocked his world turned out to be that it was his corrupt brother who was holding his son hostage for something called the Pretender project. Raines, et al had still discovered the gene and theorized that boys were the only ones born with it active. Well, you can imagine how livid Ben was and he immediately called Leith Parker in an effort to extricate his son. Mr. Parker flat out refused then included rather arrogantly that he wanted me returned forthwith or my twin would be returned to his mother in bloody little pieces. There didn't seem to be anything Ben could do, he soon became aware that the search for him and my mother had started up with more of a vengeance than when he had first left the Centre. When my mother decided to cave into my Uncle's wishes, Ben knew she needed a strong dose of what she had actually gotten herself into and informed her that she had married one brother and had a couple kids for the other. We'll skip the part about what a dunce she felt like after hearing that little pearl.

"Ben went to the only people that could help him. His friends at the Triumvirate," she stated sardonically. At Jarod's disbelieving, pained look, she nodded in agreement.

"Yeah, I know. After some rather cynical wheeling and dealing, the Triumvirate came up with their own solution. They too wanted to see if the Pretender project held the promise they had been told. Unknown to my father, by this time the Triumvirate knew about the message in the scrolls. In this time line, it seems your parents wised up a lot quicker to what the Centre was up to and disappeared with you and Kyle before you could get kidnapped. Without you, there never was any confirmation that the Pretender project would be viable. The messages in the scrolls made no sense and our mothers remained ignorant of their existence. Without you as a blueprint, all the other children picked up were quickly released and the project was almost scrapped until Mason came along. Therefore, Timmy's brain was never fried into making him Angelo. Dannie, Darra and the others were never abducted from their real parents and my mother had no one who desperately needed rescuing. Mason, by the way, is Lyle's real name, the name my mother gave him.

"We were six when all this went down. The best deal the Triumvirate could offer was for Mr. Parker to retain custody of Mason and to relinquish both my mother and me. Ben argued and tried to get the Triumvirate to agree to let him raise his own son, but they weren't having any. They were still holding out hopes that those lousy scrolls were telling the truth. Unfortunately, Mr. Parker wasn't listening too good and continued the search. It took Ben pulling a number of strings to get his brother to back off. Fortunately for Mason, our father still had some influential friends on the Triumvirate who backed Ben's play and forced Mr. Parker to take Mason away from those psychos Raines had placed him with and told him that he would have to be raised in and around the Centre—like I was. So, there my twin sits, living the life that I had and there isn't any way for me to rescue him. Hell, by now it's too late. He's so lost and confused in the web of lies Mr. Parker weaves, I doubt he knows which way is up any more."

Jarod listened to her story with a creeping horror. Without him, most of what occurred in the original timeline would never have happened, including Angelo. That was the reason Jacob was still alive and by now Sydney was probably married to Michelle and raising his own son, Nicholas. The ramifications were mind-boggling. He laid back and thought about what he had just been told. Without moving he asked, "Why didn't your mother just move up here and raise you?"

"I asked her that. She said because even though the Triumvirate agreed to separate us, Ben's underground contacts within the group told him that there were some pushing for my testing. My mother said before this whole fiasco got started, she had heard of the pretender project and out of curiosity she got Jacob to do some preliminary tests on me and found that I was an extremely viable subject—probably more so than my twin, Mason. She couldn't take the risk of the Triumvirate turning a blind eye if Mr. Parker decided to renege on the deal and take me anyway. After all, I was only his niece and family had to give everything they had or would ever hope to be in order to help family.

"Ben helped my mother get out of the country undetected and set us up in a house in Portugal. She would make infrequent visits to Rome, where she would meet Ben. They really are in love with each other. You can't help but see that when they're together. Apparently, it was during one of her Roman visits when I was eleven, she kept the visiting Aunt Dorothy fiction, that she became pregnant with Ethan. Apparently, both the Triumvirate and Mr. Parker are unaware of his existence but somehow they found out about my early graduation from Cambridge. It sparked some controversy, a new last name and another round of finger pointing but Ben was able to convince them that they had already stolen his son, he would do everything in his power to keep me out of their clutches as well."

"So Mr. Parker is still looking for you in order to use you for the Pretender project?"

"Amazing, isn't it? For an unwanted afterthought, my mere existence seems to spark a certain greed in too many eyes," she commented sadly, voicing her true opinion for the first time. She had never been blind to the dismally low level of importance she occupied for those she cared for the most. Her own loneliness was a testament to the fact.

"If you were so unwanted, they would never have started fighting over you. It seems in this timeline you'll be on the run much like I was in our original," he said thoughtfully. "I wouldn't mind helping you out with that in the least. That is if you decide to stay," he murmured softly, allowing his hand to gently trace her jaw line.

"I'd be running for my life in _any_ timeline. If I go back, then I can never return to the Centre. Raines was looking for an excuse to chill me. My extended disappearance is plenty. If I stay, Mr. Parker will try to lure me in to prove that the scrolls were telling the truth and if they catch both of us, it'll be just like the old timeline only worse. Either way, I'm screwed."

Despite the gruesome talk, Jarod was still immensely turned on by her. She spoke as though the conundrum was far removed from her present circumstances. Her gaze remained fixated on the ceiling as she absently caressed his hairy upper thigh, distracting him almost beyond control.

"Don't worry about that, I'll take care of it," he practically growled as he leaned forward to nibble her neck. At first she thought he meant he would take care of her dilemma. It was just as their throws of passion began clouding out all thought, it dawned on her that he meant _he_ would be the one screwing her.


	11. and those who worry

_**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual details_

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 11  
****By Callisto  
**

**_L' Orangiere Restaurant  
_****_Alvear Hotel – Present  
_****_Buenos Aires, Argentina_ **

Norwood ate like a man possessed. It had been a long while since he had the pleasure of eating a substantial meal of definite quality. All his allowance went towards perfecting his invention and left very little for the bare necessities. And with his creation being his sole consuming occupation, he had no other means of support. Usually one of his friends would get a good look at his gaunt features and buy a couple flavorful empanadas for him from a street vendor. Today he was in the lap of luxury and happily polishing off some alfajores, (sweets) for good measure. With a blessedly full belly, Norwood sat back contented.

Sam watched the massacre of each dish brought to the table with studied impassiveness. He waited patiently for the young man to finish stuffing himself before resuming his questioning. The more the kid talked, the more convinced the sweeper became that he knew what happened to Miss Parker and Jarod.

Norwood smiled dreamily at Sam and wiped his chin clear of the messily consumed sweets. He knew the price for such luxury would be high, but he was determined not to reveal the true nature his creation without something more substantial in return. This American hinted that he represented a powerful corporation and that there might be a reward for the return of the two missing people. After the unexpected load those two had placed on the containment field blew out several key components to his invention, Norwood was in the mood to negotiate—replacement parts were hard to come by. To have such a powerfully wealthy concern footing the bill for his scientific endeavors would be a dream come true, but he would have to tread carefully. One thing Norwood understood as well as quantum mechanics was the importance and necessity of financial aid and backers.

"Okay, kid. My turn now, tell me where they are," Sam's gravelly voice demanded softly.

"I saw them on the same day as the shooting," Norwood started slowly. An old hand at lying, he knew when to mix the truth in with the load of garbage he was sprewing. "First one than the other right behind. Then I saw a black van pull up along side of them and they were quickly dragged in before it sped away."

Sam waited to see if that was all the kid had to say. To the sweeper's ears there was a ring of truth in the nerd's story. From what they could determine from a number of eyewitnesses, Miss Parker was following after Jarod before Karl stepped in to take an unauthorized potshot at the pretender, prompting Parker to connect the butt of her 9mm with the back of his head. She had saved Jarod's life because despite whatever Sam thought of Karl, the guy rarely missed hitting what he was aiming at. Still the supervising sweeper had his suspicions about the kid's story.

"A black van? Did you see who was driving or get the license number?"

An incredulous look of disbelief suffused Norwood's features as he heard Sam's questions. No one in their right mind would put themselves in that sort of danger, not over strangers—no matter how courageous they had been. "You must be crazy! Only the most powerful and others no one wanted to tangle with used those tactics—everyone from government agents to gang lords. The last thing any sane person would want is to bring attention to themselves. That's a good way to disappear forever. This may be the new Argentina but some things haven't changed completely."

"So you saw them being forced into a black van you believe may have something to do with the authorities. Why have you been asking questions and coming by to the hotel if you wanted to stay out of it?"

"When I saw nothing in the papers about the abduction, I became curious. I wanted to know if anyone else had seen them as well."

The small beads of sweat that formed on the kid's brow normally would indicate deception but if what he was saying was true and the police had a hand in their kidnapping then that too could account for the skinny kid's nervousness. It was a lead—a doubtful one, but a lead all the same. Sam felt he would have to follow up with the authorities and given their usual secretiveness, that could take some time and negotiation. Visions of his boss being interrogated by the locals didn't sit well in Sam's mind and he doubted the Chairman would tolerate it either, though for different reasons. The sweeper decided to put in a call to the Centre immediately.

"All right kid, I'm buying your story for the moment. In the meantime, we're going to take a little ride," the burly sweeper said as he rose from his seat.

"Ride? Where?" Norwood's nervousness trebled as his widened eyes followed Sam's fluid movements.

"Relax. I want you to show me where they were picked up. I need to have an approximate address for my inquiries.

Norwood relaxed fractionally and rose with Sam. Being escorted from the restaurant surrounded by anonymous-looking corporate thugs was a bit of a thrill and added a Marlow-esque feel to this whole adventure. Next on the agenda was where he would lead them. It would have to be a place that was a convincing distance from the plaza but far enough removed from his workshop and machine. As he directed them to the general vicinity, it came to Norwood where he would take them.

_**Peron Airport - Present  
****Buenos Aires, Argentina**_

Ethan disembarked with a strong feeling of foreboding. He knew he was close to them but the messages from the voices ceased making any sense. All he could glean from their chatter was that he was close to _when _they had been. Hopefully, the man he needed to find would provide him with more answers. Slowed to a stop, he hastily retrieved a pen and wrote down the address that had been chanting in his mind since he started through the lengthy custom checks. Halting Spanish was all he knew but the written word sometimes spoke volumes—that and money. Ethan started walking again, this time with purpose as he headed towards the airport entrance and the fleet of taxis he knew should be waiting there.

**_Bio-Arboretum – 6  
_**_**The Centre - Present  
****Blue Cove, DE**_

Sydney looked out at the wakening day with alarm. It had been over a week since he had stepped foot outside of the Centre. Most nights he spent on his couch, waiting by the phone or listening in on Raines' telephone conversations. His worry for Jarod grew with each passing day and at night his dreams haunted him with regrets and should-have-beens. He still hadn't heard from his protégé and all his e-mail messages had gone unanswered. Waiting was something he thought he was well acquainted with as the old man paced his impatience down to a gentle roar.

It was in this attitude that Broots found him. Sydney looked like he aged 10 years since Miss Parker and Jarod's disappearance. He hoped that she was all right but with this continued silence, he had taught himself to expect the worse. This was the longest she had ever been out of contact since he knew her. On young Debbie's suggestion, they went by Parker's place and lightly cleaned the home from the long weeks of neglect. The place was as she had left it along with obvious signs of a search here and there. They had thrown out old foodstuffs from the fridge and cleared the wreckage of Lyle's curiosity. There was nothing there to suggest where she had gone or if she had planned it.

With thin hope he addressed his friend, trying in vain to allay his worries. "Jarod will contact you when he knows it's safe. He's been out of contact longer than this before."

"I know Broots but I can't help but worry. However, Miss Parker has never been away from the Centre or out of contact for this long. I know in my heart that her disappearance is related to Jarod's silence but I keep racking my brains and I just can't come up with a plausible explanation. I'm deeply concerned and there isn't a damn thing I can do to help."

"They both know the risks. She knows what will happen if Mr. Raines gets his hands on her now and Jarod was always aware of what was in store for him if he was ever caught again. What Lyle did and would do to him is etched his brain—like it is in mine," Broots said with disgust. "If the Centre had anything to do with their disappearance, than Jarod would be back here, wouldn't he?"

"Perhaps but that doesn't explain Parker's absence or the fact that her personal sweeper, Sam, has been sent to Buenos Aires to find her. Let's check the files on _her_ this time. Maybe there is something there we missed. A contact or an old acquaintance that she has who may know what happened." With renewed energy, Sydney returned to the complex. After a few minutes reflection, Broots followed, feeling the full brunt of futility crowding in on him.

Through the newly installed, upgraded DSA cameras, Raines had listened to their conversation with interest. Their worry was genuine. From the taps he had placed on their phones and the sweepers watching their every move, neither had any contact with either of the fugitives. Raines was quickly becoming as frustrated as Sydney, though his masters at the Triumvirate, once he was forced to apprise them of the situation, wouldn't be as understanding or as patient. Raines watched as Broots sat down at his station and began scanning Miss Parker's files. He knew the tech would find nothing because he had his own people go through them numerous times, trying to find a lead or a fatal weakness. It was in scanning those files himself, that Raines was reminded of Miss Parker's true importance to her Uncle—she had few weaknesses beyond her obsession with her mother's sanctioned death and total loyalty. Added to that, she possessed a mind enhanced by the effects of the Pretender gene, her true worth was incalculable. Now Raines wanted her back, alive and intact, and if needed, that included by any means necessary.

**_The Centre – Late 1970's  
_****_Blue Cove, DE_ **

Leith Parker stared at the communiqué he had just been given with angry futility. It was a directive, that bordered on an encyclical, issued by his masters the Triumvirate, ordering him to immediately cease searching for his daughter, as he referred to his Angel, instead of the more accurate—niece. As a baby, she won his heart. However after Raines had discovered the testing Jacob had performed on her, he was convinced that the Pretender project was showing more promise than ever before. The others were close but not good enough to keep the project viable and sufficiently profitable. Although Raines went too far in threatening Jacob, the good doctor got the child psychiatrist to give up Angel's test results. More recently Jacob's brother, Sydney had to practically mother her twin in order to extract even the minutest glimpse of brilliance out of him. It was as Parker thought; Angel was closer to the ideal than even her needy, whiney twin and her early college graduation was further proof of it. Conveniently, he chose to ignore the fact that the first few years of Mason's life had been geared towards turning the boy into a sociopath. The challenge that occupied most of Sydney's time involved consistent and inventive efforts to minimize and counteract the early damage done to Mason.

Parker's eyes scanned his desktop when they found a report, sleekly bound in a Centre portfolio. It was from Damon, which indicated that Angel was indeed in Vermont. The sweeper had been beside himself with a mixture of rage and embarrassment at the thought of a seventeen-year-old girl getting the better of him. Added to the humiliation of having to crawl out of the bus luggage hold covered in duct tape and leaves and practically scaring an elderly passenger into an early grave. He would've immediately returned to exact revenge, if Parker hadn't stopped him. Had the sweeper done his job properly she would've been well on her way back to where she belonged. It didn't help that her mother kept filling the girl's mind with poisonous lies about him and the Centre. Standing up, the wiry man with thinning salt and pepper hair and dark mustache began to pace the confines of his office. A strange, possessive pride swelled in his breast at the thought that _his _daughter had spotted the hapless sociopath and effectively neutralized him. He wanted her back with a vehemence that clouded his mind but self-preservation stopped him from directly defying the Triumvirate. Only he saw the raw potential and extraordinary abilities she possessed. The pretender gene inside her maybe dormant—he still wasn't convinced of Raines' theories--but its effects were blatantly clear for anyone to see. Where his pedantic brother saw a beloved adolescent, he saw much more and would be damned if he'd allow Ben and Catherine to turn their child into a _normal _girl. A seed of a plan began to form as he continued to pace. He needed Damon back in play but decided a backup/handler was needed. Mr. Cox was eager for his son to rise up the Centre's corporate ladder. The elder's competent and discreet handling of certain deadly, scientific 'mistakes', along with his confidence in his son's abilities prompted Parker to feel out Cox and to judge if his son was indeed the right man for the job. First, he put in a call to the mortician, then ordered the disgraced Damon to meet his new partner, return to Vermont and continue his surveillance. Hopefully this time his sweepers would find out where his brother Ben was hiding his family.

_**AN: **Just a reminder – Mr. Cox's father was a mortician who inspired in his son a love of taxidermy._


	12. The Morning or so After

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual details  
**Author's note: **"Non je ne regret rein" is an excellent song sung by the legendary Edith Piaf. Roughly translated it means: no regrets.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 12**

**By Callisto**

**_Lakeside Bed & Breakfast  
_****_Lake Catherine, VT_ **

The morning after is usually difficult. Jarod looked forward to seeing her again, unfortunately his father had different plans. A few days had to pass before he could even make an attempt to see her. Jarod, though curious to meet Catherine Parker once again, avoided and faintly dreaded the inevitable meeting. For the first time in their lives, Jarod had a chance with Parker. It had been her father's interference and corrosive training that turned her away from him. In their original time frame, Mr. Parker had a tyrannical influence on his daughter. On this side of the looking glass, he surmised that Catherine commanded a softer if not similar influence over her daughter. The last thing Jarod wanted was Catherine's disapprobation. Though Parker was a middle-aged woman inside, he felt certain that all it would take would be a few reasonable sounding arguments from her mother and Parker's prior training would kick in and doom their budding relationship.

Watching the Inn, he found Ethan leaning against a low rough-hewn stone fence reading a comic book. Jarod walked up and squatted down. Ethan looked up and smiled happily at Jarod. He was thrilled to see the older boy but it was obvious where Jarod's true interest was rooted—in Maritza.

"Spiderman. Now that's an interesting choice of comic book hero. Have you read many of the stories?"

"A few."

"Ethan, do you sometimes find yourself identifying with Peter Parker? He can do so many wonderful things."

"Yeah, I wish I could do some of the stuff he does, like flying on webs but that's all make believe," the child replied laughingly.

"What about the way he knows when something is going to happen?" Jarod probed, wondering if this Ethan had his half-brother's inner-sense.

Ethan became still and stared hard at Jarod, who kept his expression studiously neutral. "You mean Spidy-sense? No, I can't do that. I mean it wouldn't always be as neat as it seems." Belatedly, the child realized he had said too much. "You're looking for my sister aren't you?" Ethan inquired quietly, abruptly changing the subject. Then nodding in the direction behind Jarod, he said, "She's in the garage, exercising."

"Exercising?" he inquired lightly.

By this time, Ethan had studiously returned to his magazine replying absently, "She's supposed to be practicing but today she's in the garage."

He slowly rose to his feet and said, "Thank you, Ethan. Enjoy the comic."

Jarod eagerly looked for her there and found the large front garage doors securely locked. He circled the structure until he found an open pedestrian door. The room he walked into had a long barre mounted to one wall. Stationed adjacent to the barre was a large freestanding mirror typically used by dancers and leaning against the barre while lifting a leg and arm simultaneously was Parker. She looked over at him impassively and continued with the exercise. Jarod stood a few feet away and watched until she finished.

"So this is what he meant by 'exercising'. I take it your mother wants you to continue studying ballet. How's it going?"

"Lousy. I haven't done these exercises in almost 20 years. I feel ancient even admitting to that. What do you want?"

Jarod's heart sank a few centimeters. Her tone sounded as though she didn't get the note he had left for her. It also made what he came to ask much harder. Since he had given himself a chance to think beyond his desire, it occurred to him that although she was an adult inside, her body wasn't. This brought other—considerations—to mind.

"I missed you," he said simply. Parker looked at him but remained silent. "I left a note in the clearing explaining that my father decided to take all of us on an extended camping trip. There was something I wanted to ask you…" he began haltingly. When he rehearsed this, her eyes weren't boring into him like twin, gray lasers.

"Got the note. What's the question?"

Her impatience was something far more familiar than the uncharted territory they had recently strayed into. Taking a deep breath, he dove for the deep end. "I've caught myself occasionally forgetting about my physical age and the other night was no exception. Are you all right? Is everything okay? I wasn't sure…" he asked as his worry began to show plainly and painfully in his eyes.

Parker's lips twitched into a small smile of understanding. "I'm fine and yes, I was. In our time, things were different. Anton was a gorgeous, worldly, well-spoken cad. I believe there isn't any question of our altering the timeline." She tilted her head to one side and stared at her lover speculatively, wondering if he would continue and try to explain how their liaison had been a horrific mistake.

Jarod continued looking uncomfortable as he gripped the barre next to her. He was about to correct her by stating if their lust had changed the timeline then they would be the last to know it but he wasn't in the mood to irritate her further and remained quiet. She allowed him several seconds of silence, before asking with a subtle touch of sarcasm, "Is that what you wanted to hear?"

"You sound angry. Do you regret what happened between us?"

"You didn't hurt me. Non je ne regret rein," she said quietly while continuing to stare at him.

Relief flooded his face but uncertainty remained in his eyes. His heart was committed but he wondered how far she would allow their relationship to continue unchallenged. There was so much he wanted to share with her but he had no idea how to broach the subject. For once, he was at a loss for words with her and he was fast running out of patience waiting for her to understand his meaning.

Parker resumed her barre exercises while keeping an eye on him. From the look on his face, he wanted more from her, he just didn't know how to ask without running the risk of being turned down. Abruptly she stopped and giving herself a short sigh of reproach, Parker walked over to Jarod and gently touched his shoulder. When he looked at her, she smoothed his short hair with deliberate movements and looked in his eyes. She was intrigued and suddenly if not thoroughly turned on by the expression on his face.

"I'm almost finished with the device we can use to contact the person who transported us here. When you're ready, we'll make our first attempt," Jarod stated quietly, then without waiting for a reply, he quickly leaned forward and kissed her fully. When she didn't pull away, Jarod took her head gently in his hands and continued kissing and tasting her.

Having him kiss her so hungrily was enjoyable; his ardor gratifying. She broke off his last kiss, then led him by the hand outside and around the back of the Inn. Jarod noticed Ethan had abandoned his spot against the stone fence as he followed her upstairs to their room. Jarod smiled at the thought that his changed relationship with Parker included sharing a lair with her. He watched her lightly bound up the stairs and for the first time noticed she was wearing a black leotard over white tights and some curious looking stockings that had the feet cut neatly away. Once inside, their horny eagerness didn't exactly allow time to disrobe neatly.

Some time later, spent but with the craving for more of him beginning to surface, Parker rolled onto her side to stare at Jarod who was busily reading something in his lap. He had a towel wrapped around his waist and was sitting on the floor next to the bed. He looked over at her absently and found her looking at him with contented passion. Giving her an intensely passionate look, he softened it by smiling in the same manner that he had in the garage—like an eager kid in a candy store. With his trademark focused smile still on his face, he leaned towards her and kissed her again.

"No one's ever looked at me the way you're doing now," she said quietly. 'Not even Tommy', she remarked to herself. Tommy had looked at her as a lover and friend but never with this level of intensity.

"I want to explore a relationship with you. I was beginning to lose hope that there would ever be anyone who could make me feel the way I do now."

"Our past will continue to get in the way. We're supposed to be enemies, remember?"

"I never wanted to be your enemy. We used to be friends and now I think we both deserve more."

"Can you forgive some of the things I did to you?" She inquired probingly.

"Can you forgive me as well?"

"Locking me up with Lyle _twice, _now that was a tough stunt to get over."

Nodding solemnly, he answered, "You needed to know about him—to hear his lies and then find out the truth behind them on your own. That was the only way I could think of to stop you from trusting him."

"It worked. Giving me the flu, now that was inspired."

"You burned the information about my family in Miami."

"Hindsight proves that wasn't my finest hour. I was still trusting the one person I couldn't help but trust. However, looking back, that info was probably a plant to get you to walk into a trap."

Jarod stared at her thoughtfully, then nodded slowly. The Centre had almost caught him, his mother and sister in Boston. Somehow they found out about the information Harriet Tashman had passed on to him. She was probably right. "I heard you didn't exactly appreciate my witch statue."

"Unlike me, it turned out she had no appreciation for a leisurely bath. I liked Igor better, he didn't snore. Unfortunately, he was about as brilliant as some of my colleagues."

Jarod laughed appreciatively. "When we're together like this, I know I've found the one intangible that I've been searching for. It's freeing. I'd realized early on that loneliness is its own cage that follows you no matter where you go."

"Tell me about it. It's different here; maybe it's our physical age. I'm not sure."

"You've changed since we've been here. You've been changing for sometime now, that's why your father had become so controlling. It's really been happening since you found out your mother didn't die in that elevator. Having the chance to be with her and talk to her again has had its effect on you."

She gave him a rakish smile that encouraged him to return it and lean forward for another kiss, which deepened as he eased himself next to her in bed. Once he allowed her to talk between kisses, she said, "You were saying you've found a way for us to communicate with the guy who sent us here?"

"Yes, I've converted a radio to match the harmonics…" he mumbled the rest into her neck, gratefully breathing in the scent of her hair and eliciting a deeply affectionate laugh out of her.

Pulling him away from her neck, she stared into his eyes and felt her heart swell in answer to his expression. It was the look in his eyes that made her, for the first time, not want to return to her own time. The grown-up version of Ethan and the friendship she shared with bumbling Broots and serious Sydney were her only reasons for returning. Somehow over the past month or so, she found every reason to stay and fewer and fewer reasons to leave. However, happiness was an emotion that, up to now, always came in small portions that immediately dissolved like Jarod's wax witch statue whenever a sense of permanency began to sneak in.

"The radio is finished. All we need to do is activate the transponder and see if our mad scientist is standing by to contact us." He had noticed the expression in her eyes and suppressed the urge to shout in triumph. "Hopefully we can get messages back to our loved ones."

"Messages? You don't think he'll be able to get us back to our own time?"

"You still want to go back? Why?" he asked with mounting anger.

"We don't belong here, Jarod. This is like a waking dream, nice at first but eventually it'll turn into a nightmare."

Frustrated energy propelled him to sit upright in bed. "There's nothing there for either of us. Why do you persist in reaching for a life that has brought you nothing but misery?"

"Wait a second, what do you think is here that won't wind up the same way? Well, okay maybe for you but for me? I'm expected to audition for a spot on the philharmonic, an audition that I'm in no way ready for. And that's despite the fact that my desire to be a lawyer is being put on the back burner."

"I was thinking of us. You can still do the audition; from what you're saying they won't take you anyway. Then you can go on to law school and become an attorney."

"You make it sound so easy. I don't think I could take the disappointed look on my mother's face. And what about us? How long did you think we were going to be able to stay together here?"

Jarod was bone-chillingly angry. He assumed they would stay together indefinitely. Apparently she had other ideas. For Jarod, it was as though he were allowed in the candy store and then told it was only window-shopping.

A sarcastic laugh and shake of the head came from her as the expression on his face answered her question. She clasped her hands and brought her knuckles to her mouth. Understanding had to exist between them if she had any hope of having him on their true side of the timeline.

"Jarod, here I'm seventeen years old. _Seventeen_. My mother is reasonable but not that understanding. She's very protective," Parker reasoned emphatically. Then warming to the subject she continued as the scenario played out in her imagination. "But suppose we do somehow work this out. How long will it take for you to want to start your pretends again?"

"What do you mean?" he said carefully, wondering if she had already guessed his intent.

"I may not be a genius but I'm definitely not a simpleton. You're going to want to go over your pretends and prevent some of the situations that occurred in our timeline from ever occurring here. Whiner cops being exposed as the thieving low-lifes they are, never getting the chance to kill an innocent security guard. A racist immigrant smuggler having charges stick before his greed decimates a family. A sickly teen being put mysteriously at the top of the organ donor list, so he can receive a heart first. Do I need to go on?"

"I can make a difference. We're both being given a chance to make people's lives better."

"What am I supposed to do while you're out helping the little guy? Hang around and wait for you to find someone else who shares your zeal? I've got baggage, Jarod. I know that. All my life, I've been the lowest priority for everyone closest to me. I'll be damned if I get placed at the bottom of your list too," she replied with uncompromising heat as she got out of bed and stormed into the bathroom.

Jarod looked up in shock. He hadn't thought of that and immediately felt like a heel for not considering her feelings. She was right and there wasn't an argument in his considerable arsenal that could prove otherwise. What she hadn't thought of while she ran the shower was that Jarod devoted his distraction-free concentration to the problem and almost immediately found a solution.


	13. Plans

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the bit about me not making any money off this.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 13  
****By Callisto  
**

**Alvear Hotel  
****Buenos Aires, Argentina**

Norwood could do nothing more than hint. To go any further would risk losing control of his intellectual property and the project as a whole. Holding the carrot firmly within his grasp, he told the burly sweeper that he felt confident in his ability to contact the two lost friends who were most likely in police custody.

Sam stared at Norwood speculatively. He was on the verge of bringing Raines' favorite brutal sweeper, Willie in on this interrogation when the kid made this offer—albeit with a disturbingly venal look on his face. If all he wanted was money, then that was something Sam knew he could handle on his own. He doubted the kid wanted anything more than a few hundred bucks, at the most maybe a thousand. He thought wrong.

Negotiations were about to begin and Norwood had done his homework. Without actually revealing his substantial price tag, he informed Sam that his means of making contact would also involve no one knowing about it. He then gave the sweeper a partial list of the components needed to get his 'radio' up and running.

Sam took out a note pad and began to jot down the various electronic gizmos the kid was requesting. Once he was done, Sam looked up from the half dozen items and into the kid's eager face. He didn't know what was going on, but he intended on take precautions.

"I have to talk to some people to see if I can get my hands on some of this stuff. If I bring one or all these items to you, I'm coming along with them. Whatever these things are, they sound pricey so you can plan on me hanging around to protect my investment. Also I want to be standing right next to you when you contact them."

Norwood paused for a few seconds. He hadn't considered Sam's request but knowing that everything he had just asked for was either expensive or extremely difficult to obtain, the young scientist couldn't find fault with the request. Norwood rationalized to himself that the collection of muscle sitting across from him wouldn't have a clue about quantum mechanics or possess the technical know-how to understand what it took to form the temporal portal necessary to make contact with his friends. There were bigger problems at the forefront of Norwood's mind—mainly, if the two people in question had even survived the time trip and if so, did they leave the tree frog to fend for itself or was it still within their immediate proximity. The frog was the key and if either one of them had an ounce of sense—hopefully this burly guy wasn't an example of their mental prowess—they hung on to amphibian like the lifeline it was.

**Wyman's cabins - Past  
****Lake Catherine, VT **

A couple days after their argument, Jarod went over his private and personal plans for both of them to stay, while putting the final touches on the radio he designed to help them make contact with the scientist who brought them this unexpected bonanza. While doing this, his thoughts wandered to their conversation in the bathroom. The setting proved to be more conducive to what he had to say than he could've imagined. The protectively angry look on her face that hid the hurt boiling inside was evidence that he needed to settle this tension between them immediately. Walking up to her, Jarod got to the point straight away.

"You're right, I should've looked at it from all sides. I don't want to squander this chance we've been given to set some things right from our time but I don't want to lose you as a result. We have at least 2 decades before some of the injustices I tried to correct start occurring. That gives us plenty of time to see if a personal relationship between us will work. Regardless, I always have been and will always be your friend."

With that he gave her a halting smile combined with a concerned frown. The result was a combination of expressions that united his concern with his love for her. Carefully studying her face, he inched forward and lightly touched her shoulder, half-expecting her to reject him. Instead, she sighed deeply and gazed into the concern written clearly on his face. The whole ordeal of jumping back 25 years had put her on an emotional roller coaster, kept her nerves on edge and her reactions uneven. In a singular motion, she closed the gap between them, leaned up on her toes and kissed him slowly, with her hand lightly cupping the side of his face. Jarod was careful not to spoil the moment however his body unconsciously reacted as he gently held her close to kiss her more fully. Parker eased out of their kiss and smiled indulgently at him. His brow furrowed in curiosity at her half-amused, patient expression when she abruptly turned and closed the drain to fill the tub. Jarod handed her a bottle of foaming soap and tightening his towel around his waist, readied himself to sit on the tub's edge so he could talk with her further. He was about to take up his perch when he glanced down and noticed an obvious bulge in his towel.

Parker turned to find him looking uncomfortably self-conscious at his physical reaction to her. She smiled at him but a protective tinge of expectant disappointment wouldn't let her go. "Get in," she ordered softly.

"You want me to _join _you?"

"Yes. You first," she replied as she casually removed her robe.

With a small shrug, he slipped out of the towel and eased himself into the warm water. When he was finished positioning himself comfortably, she stepped into the tub, splashed some water over her arms and leaned slightly back. Jarod pulled her fully against his body and sighed pleasurably. When the water was high enough, Parker leaned forward and spun the taps shut then resumed her position against him, as Jarod began to slowly wash her skin.

"I don't want to lose you, either. We're both taking a gamble by continuing with this relationship. You're the only person in this variant time zone I can talk to without worrying about saying or making a reference to something that hasn't happened yet. I can't afford to lose you. I've lost so much already. Regaining it here doesn't negate the pain I've already been through."

"I know and you won't. I plan on somehow meeting up with you in Europe. I don't have all the details worked out and it may take me a little time to find you but officer training school is out. None of my family expected me to really go through with it, so it won't be a shock to them." Jarod brought a cupped handful of fragrant water up to her shoulder and watched it flow over her skin, then followed it with a kiss and a gentle bite to the neck.

"And the pretends? Are you going to start doing them again?"

"Not right away. There's more than one way to work through this," he replied slowly. After a short pause he continued with, "In our time, I had unlimited access to funds and information. Things are different here and we both have more options. I like helping people, but I'll need to change my tactics. Having your help would definitely make a difference."

"That's not all that's worrying me," she replied with a heavy sigh, thoroughly enjoying his erotically tactile exploration of her body. "It's the Centre. Returning to our own time, we'll both have to avoid them. Staying here is riskier. If they capture you and figure out who and what you are, things will be worse here than they were in our time. With me tagging along, it would only insure that they would try to kidnap you as well."

"They're looking for a brilliant little boy, not a full grown man," he rejoined softly in her ear. "They taught me how to be a pretender, I can just as easily pretend that I'm not."

"The scrolls aren't all they have. Genetics don't lie. You have the gene and a simple test would prove it. I know every bone in your body is altruistic but if you start messing with this timeline, we have no idea what unseen damage we might be causing."

"I like it when you say 'we'. I'll do my best to avoid the Centre but aren't we getting ahead of ourselves? That's at least 20 years from now. We'll have plenty of time to figure out what's best. I for one would like to spend some of that time doing things I never had the freedom to do before, like hang around in one place for more than a few months."

"You want a home," she replied quietly. "If you stay here, you'll have them, with no threats and no fears."

"And if I can convince you to stay, I'll have my best friend as well." He nibbled on her ear while his hands began to wander more purposefully.

Stimulated beyond distraction, she turned halfway in his arms and murmured against his mouth, "One thing is certain. I'm enjoying being seventeen much more than I did the first time around." With that comment, she neatly turned to completely face him in a move that showed how limber she was.

Shaking himself free from the more erotic aspects of his reverie, Jarod returned to his final upgrades for the radio when he recalled something Parker had told him about her arrival in this time. He realized there was an easier way to go about contacting the scientist. Grabbing the keys to the truck, he was headed out the door when his father stopped him.

"Going somewhere?"

"Oh, yeah," Jarod said confusedly. He kept forgetting that his father wanted to keep tabs on his whereabouts. "I was going to stop by and see Mari. Did you want me to pick something up while I'm out?"

"Son, I think we should have a talk," the major said quietly.

Jarod stared curiously. He knew his father was curious about the sudden relationship he developed with Parker. Now it seemed the major wanted to find out more about his son's deepening involvement. "You want to talk to me about my girlfriend?"

"Among other things, yes. Let's take a walk," the major commanded.

Jarod looked behind his father to see Parker and Ethan walking up to the screen door. Before she could knock, Jarod said, "Mari, what a coincidence. I was just about to go over to the Inn."

Jarod stepped around his father and opened the door for them and his mother. All three were carrying grocery bags, which Jarod quickly took from them.

"I ran into Mari at the general store and she and her little brother were nice enough to help me carry all of it home. Mari, I hope you and Ethan will stay and have dinner with us?" Margaret asked insistently.

"Thank you, I'll have to clear it with my mother first."

"The phone is over there next to Kyle. Emily, Ethan come in the kitchen and help me get dinner started."

Parker walked over to the phone, while Jarod and his father exchanged looks. The major shrugged and clapping his son on the shoulder said, "We'll talk later."

Parker heard him and looked over as Jarod watched his father walk outside. Speaking briefly to Ben, she informed him that she and Ethan had been invited to dinner and would be home afterwards. Ben was in a generous mood as well, having the kids out of the house gave him more time to spend alone with their mother.

Settling down on the couch, Parker picked up the television schedule and began reading the offerings for the day. "Which is your favorite show? Not much here to choose from. There's a classic Saturday Night on—that looks promising. It used to be my favorite show. Otherwise, it looks like a Nick-at-Nite nightmare," she said laughingly.

"Who's Nick-at-Night?" Kyle asked curiously.

"Oh, ummm that's a TV channel we get in Europe," Parker answered quickly.

Jarod smiled at her gaffe and sat next to her on the couch. "Some things are worth waiting for," he said softly switching to Portuguese. "The other day definitely falls into that category."

"Hormones kicking in again?" she asked softly in English.

"I've been thinking..." he began stubbornly in Portuguese.

"You still can through that thick cloud of hormones? Now I can appreciate why they kept calling you a genius," she interrupted in Portuguese.

"Everything's ready for making contact. You mentioned a frog when we first met. Do you still have it?"

"Red-eyed Horatio? What do you want with him?"

"Horatio?"

"I have this nasty habit of naming all my pets. Back home I've a menagerie of strays that drives my mother nuts."

A sigh of relief escaped his lips. "Where's the frog?"

"Back home hanging out on a tree limb in the terrarium. Why?"

"It's the key. You said that you woke up with it sitting next to you."

"How is he key to anything? And why would I've brought him here with me?"

"When we went through the portal, our bodies regressed 25 years but when you woke up the frog was still the same age. It was given something to inhibit regression. I'm betting that it was also injected with a locator beacon so our mad scientist would be able to find it in the continuum. The scientist should pick up whatever signal the beacon is emitting. That is if he hasn't already retrieved the frog."

Ethan walked by loudly arguing with Emily, causing Parker to call out to him. "Hey, Shorty. What are you yelling for? Be quiet."

Jarod looked at her curiously. Her Centre persona had come out in full bloom, something that had begun to fade in the past month they had spent together. It made him all the more determined to keep her in this time frame.

In response to her sharp reprimand, Ethan quickly stopped. He turned and looked at her with a sudden fear. This is the way she used to sound—the way she used to talk to him—_before_. Completely abandoning his argument with imperiously skeptical Emily, Ethan approached his sister. He didn't stop until he was partially in her lap, causing her to look at him in alarm. Without a word, he stared into her eyes.

"Are you alright?" she asked as she felt his cheek and forehead, brushing back his longish hair.

The genuine concern in her face and the light in her eyes relieved him. The whispers reassured him that the _replacement_ was still present. His sister was still his sister but by some means there had been a change. He remembered when it occurred and noted it down in his journal—the day their mother stayed home from work to talk to Mari. At first he didn't, but now Ethan liked this new Mari better. She wasn't as impatient with him and seemed to like him better as well. He wanted to keep her this way.

"I'm fine. I told Emily that you could play the piano really good and dance too. She doesn't believe me, though," he said quietly, then turned his eyes to Jarod. He knew about the whispers but instinctively Ethan felt he could trust Jarod, so he smiled at Mari's boyfriend before jumping off his sister and asking calmly, "Would you play something?"

"What is it with you having to win arguments? I swear Ethan, this quirk of yours just doesn't go away," she replied with affectionate sincerity.

"Please, please, please," he begged eagerly, with all the drama a 6-year old could summon.

Parker continued staring at her brother, then looked over at Jarod. The look of wonderment was stamped all over her features. "He knows," she murmured softly.

"He has the same gift you have," Jarod responded tenderly. She was making him feel the things others had only told him about. Without trivializing his other relationships, this sensation definitely put them in a different perspective. The major had just reentered the house to see the expression on his eldest son's face—undisguised passion.

Margaret took in the whole scene and caught the deeply concerned look on her husband's face. Before Trevor could say anything to their son, Margaret smoothly stepped in. "Trevor would you mind helping me for a minute?" As with her children, she used a tone that was more of a command. The major conceded and joined her.

"We have one more week before going home. Leave him alone, Trevor."

Adopting her whisper, he responded, "Maggie, he's in love with that little girl. Every time I see them together I keep getting the feeling that this isn't one of his kiss-and-run girlfriends."

"She's not _that_ young. She's seventeen. I know because I asked. And I've talked with her. Strangely enough, she seems to be extremely mature and well grounded. Nothing like that Asia Kraemer." Patting him reassuringly on his arm she stated, "Don't worry, it'll all work out."

"I'm wondering how he's going to take it when we tell him this is our last week here. If we weren't leaving soon, I think we'd have a time getting him to come home."

"I think what we both should do is try to find out as much as we can about her. Try not to be alarmed but I think we might just be staring at our future daughter-in-law."

They both stopped talking as Parker sat at the piano in the corner of the room. With practiced ease and Jarod standing nearby, she began to play. Fencing had been her main method of anger management and with it so far being unavailable to her and with her dancing abilities still rudimentary at best, piano had become her premiere emotional outlet. At her mother's insistence, Parker reacquainted herself with the instrument and recalled how she was able to pour her impotent anger and frustrations into the music. Rachmaninov and Debussy quickly became favorites. With amazing skill and much feeling, she expressed herself with a sophistication that went beyond her physical age. The hours of dedicated practice from the moment she stepped into this reality clearly showed though her proficiency was slightly lacking from the self that originally occupied this timeframe. When at last she was done, she looked up to find Jarod's whole family looking at her with unfeigned surprise. Silence enveloped the room as Jarod began to nod enthusiastically and clap; immediately joined in by the rest of his family.

Parker with embarrassed self-consciousness got up to the quick protests of her hosts and waved off their genuine entreaties for her to continue playing. Jarod grinned and said, "That's the best rendition of Beethoven's 'Bagatelle' I've ever heard." He had long ago mastered the piano but her touch and expression went beyond his knowledge.

"Thank you, Jarod. But you have to admit my performance was flawed and hardly that remarkable."

Leaning close to her he whispered, "You're underestimating yourself, Miss Parker."

Margaret watched the two lovers whispering to each other and was further convinced about her son's commitment. She strongly suspected that Jarod had lost all interest in OTS or in becoming a corporate drone. This very talented girl was his newest focus and knowing her son, he would follow up until his curiosity was completely satisfied—and his heart thoroughly devoted.

Jarod walked her outside after dinner in order to speak to her alone. Her display of talent had spurred his family into forcing her to return to the piano for the next hour.

"At least your father hates me a little less on this side of the timeline than he does on the other."

"He doesn't hate you on either side. Right now, he's worried that I've taken advantage of you. By the way, what do you say we take advantage of each other tonight?" he asked with a rakishly hopeful grin.

"We can't risk it. I think someone's watching us again."

"You're Spidy sense? Do you think it's Mr. Parker again?"

"Spidy-sense? Good Lord, Jarod," she replied looking at him with mild incredulity. "The voices in my head are starting to chatter again and yes I think it's the same guy we packed off to Florida but I haven't seen him yet."

"We're going to have to risk it. Tomorrow morning meet me in the clearing and we'll try to contact the scientist while we still have the chance. My main worry at this time is if he's still listening for us to make contact."

"If the Centre finds him, I can guarantee you that he's listening for all he's worth."


	14. Past speaking to the Present

**Disclaimer:  **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual precautionary statements.

**Time to Consider   
****Chapter 14   
****By Callisto   
**

**Dorado Iron Works - Present   
****Warehouse District   
****Buenos Aires, Argentina**

Some consider what he was doing as stalking. Ethan however, viewed it as surveillance, a necessary evil in light of his quarry. He was worried about his sister. It seemed the more time passed, the less the voices had to say about her plight. The confusing messages left him worried and deeply concerned. He watched the minimal activity going on at the dilapidated warehouse with shrinking hope. Once the skinny kid returned with the tall burly sweeper and his two equally muscular guards, Ethan knew the voices had indeed led him to the right spot. Somehow this kid had some connection to what had happened to his siblings.

With admirable stealth that would make Norwood hang his inept head in shame, Ethan made his way to a partially open side window. Peering in however was futile because there were multiple layers of grime obscuring his view. Taking a deep breath, Ethan decided to execute his hastily formed plan, and systematically took out the guarding sweepers with the business end of a weighted lead pipe in exactly the manner Jarod had showed him. Once they were securely tied up and shoved discreetly into a darkened corner of the adjacent alley, Ethan returned to the window and gained entry.

Norwood climbed the ladder and placed the last component into place. It was a terribly basic patch up job but it would suffice for making contact with the big guy's friends. Noisily climbing down the ladder and removing it from the containment area, Norwood missed any sounds of Ethan's entrance.

At his computer, Norwood busily entered his encrypted password and started typing in the sequence code eagerly. The corporate guy had been able to get everything on the wish list. His hopes were high that with some tangible success, further financial backing could become available and his machine would be working as it should.

Norwood's concentration was so focused and absorbed that all else around him faded into the unnecessary background. Sam watched the nerdy kid as he typed out the code for this weird contraption. Mr. Broots had obtained the components and advised him that some of the items were state-of-the-art technology. After Broots informed Sam of the market price the contents of the box commanded, the sweeper decided a couple additional guards would be called for. He carefully watched where the kid placed each and every piece because if this turned out to be another boondoggle, Sam was not only going to kill the kid but retrieve every part Broots had sent him.

Ethan watched the tableau as the voices started their sing-song chant in his mind. Once he decided on a course of action, one voice usually separated from the others and whispered what was needed to achieve his goal. It wasn't always his dead mother's voice but today she was there in his head, coaxing him to wait until the right moment to overtake Sam.

Finally, the modified sequence was complete. The machine had been programmed to pick up the carrier signal from the frog. With any luck the little guy was still alive and transmitting. Glancing at Sam, who nodded curt encouragement, Norwood hit the enter key and the machine began to hum encouragingly.

**Wyman Cabins – Past   
****Lake Catherine, VT **

Early the next morning, the major drew his eldest son outside for a brief chat. Calmly and succinctly, he reminded Jarod of his obligations to himself, his future and his family as well. Without interruption, he went on to explain what he suspected of Jarod's relationship with Parker—the depth and likely physical intimacy.

"The last thing I want for you Son, is to become another statistic. Teenage pregnancy is the last thing that comes to mind and I know at your age I thought I was invincible to the weaknesses that plagued others. All I'm asking is for the both of you to be careful and to take precautions."

Jarod nodded thoughtfully as he considered his father's advise. Here again was another example of how they both forgot the gravity of their physical ages. "I have no intention of becoming another statistic. We'll both be careful."

The major looked at his son gravely, noting that Jarod didn't bother trying to deny having sex with his girlfriend. This brand of blunt honesty was something new. It was then the major continued by explaining with quiet empathy that they would be leaving this summer retreat at the end of the week. He watched the expressions play across his son's face with deep interest. Without many external cues, it seemed that Jarod had experienced some character changing events. His relationship with this new girl was of a piece of it. Before coming to Vermont, shallow Asia was the usual type that drew Jarod. Now, the beautiful, talented girl from the nearby Inn had monopolized his son's heart. Here he had to concede to Margaret's assessment, this girl was different. Not wanting to push his son away, the major clapped Jarod lightly on the back and asked if he was coming inside. At Jarod's expected decline, the major slowly returned to the cabin—his thoughts occupied with Jarod, his reactions and his deeply felt emotions for a girl he barely knew.

Jarod watched his father walk slowly away. He had wanted to spend more quality time with his entire family but though it took some time, reality had forced its way on him. His entire family, while close knit was comprised of extremely busy people. Once they were back home, both his parents would return to work, Kyle would be going back to his fun-filled college days and Emily would be preoccupied by extra-curricular sports, clubs and friends. Being a part of this active family, Jarod was expected to report to OTS in Alabama for the better part of year. Staying at home was out of the question and the corporation that his father wanted him to join sounded stifling at best. Not exactly Jarod's idea of fun family, getting-to-know-you times.

Nervously pacing the length of the copse where he had set up his radio and transponder, Jarod waited for Parker. Getting her pregnant wasn't a corner he wanted to paint her into and he resolved not to let his hormones control his actions when they were together. Readjusting to the physical differences of youth was more challenging than he could've imagined. Not being in their own time was the thing that preoccupied both their minds. He also didn't intend on losing her. This level of passion was new for him. The fact that it was inspired by his former huntress added a refreshing bit of insanity to their romantic predicament. He considered several methods of explaining to her his completed plan, a plan which had formed in his mind while he wrapped his arms around her wet shoulders. He was so absorbed in his own thoughts that she almost walked up to him unnoticed. She was dressed in a white eyelet blouse and faded blue jeans. With the long, hair and dance-enhanced gait, she was a pleasure for him to watch.

"Nice seeing you again, too," she said with a gentle smile. The expression on Jarod's face was something she was quickly becoming used to but determined not to take for granted.

"Thanks for coming," he answered, returning her smile. With an abrupt change in mood he asked with focused seriousness, "Are you still getting the feeling of being watched?"

"Yes. This time he's keeping his distance. You sure we should do this out here?"

"Daytime should make him more shy, besides we don't have much time left. It's best if do this right now."

"Why, what's going on?"

"This is the last week of vacation for my family. We're heading back to Indiana on Sunday." Watching her reaction with interest, Jarod continued, "The radio is over here. I don't think our friend will be bold enough to want to join us again." With that, he lead the way into the copse. Concealed by the leafy branches of a low growing bush, Jarod pulled out a neatly wrapped package the size of a suitcase. He worked quickly and efficiently, no motion was wasted as he set up the unit for use.

Parker watched him work with silent admiration, though it was tempered by what he had said just moments ago. She knew this would happen eventually but it still caused a flutter of dread in the pit of her stomach. The memory of what he had said and done in the bathtub after their argument did little to calm those unhappy butterflies.

Before she had a chance to pick a fight with him and reassert the wall around her heart, the sound of static drew her notice. Still wasting no motion, Jarod reached for another, larger gadget that had been set up in a nearby tree. He flicked the contraption on and tiny LED lights flickered to life. Immediately crouching down again, he began to fiddle with the knobs on the radio. Parker dropped into a crouch beside him and watched his long, thin fingers work the controls. In a few minutes, after synchronizing both the transponder and radio frequencies, Jarod had them within the bandwidth he wanted and listened carefully for any signs of reception.

**Dorado Iron Works - Present   
****Warehouse District   
****Buenos Aires, Argentina**

Oblivious to Sam's increasing impatience, Norwood spun the receiver knobs with practiced care. Within another few seconds, the beeping sound of the frog's implanted transponder echoed throughout the warehouse. Synchronizing his radio to match the harmonics, Norwood lifted a tiny microphone to his lips and began speaking.

"Hello? Is there anyone there?" Nothing but silence greeted him. "Hello, anyone out there to receive, over." Again all was quiet. After another half-dozen tries, Norwood shrugged indifferently and turned to look at the expressionless sweeper. "Doesn't look like your friends were able to get their hands on the correct frequency. Either my police contact was unable to get the message to them or they don't know how to adjust the radio's frequency band."

"I seriously doubt that. Neither one is an idiot and at least one of them knows that I would do my best to make contact. Try again and if that doesn't work, think of something new and try that."

"Hey, now wait a minute. I'm not going to be ordered around like a flunky waiter hoping for a tip. If you want to take you're pretty little toys away with you, that's fine. What's going on here is technologically complex and mathematically intricate. Definitely not something your average boy scout would be able to accomplish."

As Norwood was reestablishing his mental superiority and prowess, a faint scratching came over the radio. With excited interest, Norwood looked over to find that his fingers had slipped and twirled the knob completely out of position. Slumping his shoulders, Norwood was about to return to his search when another thought came to him.

**Wyman Cabins – Past   
****Lake Catherine, VT**

Jarod adjusted the bandwidth on the transponder and tried again, synchronizing the radio to match the harmonics with little results. Without the frog, all he was doing was guessing and with the amount of frequencies to choose from, this could take a lifetime. He calculated the odds of the scientist even listening at a corresponding time and the chances were infinitesimal. With dimming hope, Jarod was about to shut everything down in frustration. His mind wasn't fully on this anyway. Reaching up, he tried to spin the knob to shut off the transponder but it slipped in his fingers. He was about to try again when Parker stopped him.

"Wait, I think I heard something."

"I doubt it. The odds are too high that we would be able to reach anyone without the frog as a beacon. We'll have to wait for a chance when we're together along with the frog." As he was saying this, a scratching noise came over the radio. Parker looked up at him and at his nod, picked up the microphone.

"Hello, is anyone there?" Crackling silence was her only answer. She was about to try again when the sound of distant voices greeted her.

With delicate movements, Jarod adjusted the transponder, and then excitedly adjusted the radio when the voices came over stronger and more intelligible.


	15. Conversation success!

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual comments.   
**Author's note: **I would like to extend my appreciation for those who reviewed the last chapter.

Time to Consider   
**Chapter 15   
****By Callisto   
**

**Dorado Iron Works - Present   
****Warehouse District   
****Buenos Aires, Argentina   
**

"What the hell are you doing? And better yet, _who_ are you?

"I'm looking for my sister. I was told that you were looking for her too and decided to join the party when this guy interrupted," Ethan replied with ease. Sam's unconscious body lay at his feet, a weighted pipe still firmly clasped in Ethan's hands.

"Yeah? Who told you that and why'd you hit him?"

"He's a sweeper and would've shot me if he saw me first. What is this thing and what have you done to my sister?"

Finally self-preservation kicked in as Norwood took in the harried look in Ethan's eyes and the weighted pipe in his fist. "Hey, they bumbled into the containment field. There wasn't anything I could do."

"They? Was Jarod with her?"

"Jarod? I don't know names. Just that a man and woman had gone missing and everybody short of the military are looking for them."

"Well, guess again. They're looking for her too. Does this contraption have anything to do with time?" Ethan asked wondering if the confused messages had been accurate but his interpretation had been flawed.

"How the hell....." As Norwood was about to ask him how he knew, a distant voice from the radio answered for him.

**"**_**Yes, it does. Ethan it's good to hear your voice. Are you all right?"** _

"Jarod. It's a relief to finally hear from you. Where are you? Do you need any help?"

**"**_**I think the appropriate question is when I am. Actually everything is okay; we're in the late '70's. Is the person who built the contraption there with you?"** _

"Yeah. He's right here, looking like a happily, mad wizard from Harry Potter. What the hell do you mean you're in the 1970's? Can I come and get you?"

**"_Ask the scientist. We stumbled into a containment field just as he was conducting an experiment. So far we're okay but I don't know how badly we've messed up the timeline." _**

A loud whoop of joy was Jarod's answer as Norwood celebrated his unprecedented success. Never in his wildest dreams had he considered sending a live human through the containment field. The risks to both the person, and the timeline were too great, not to mention to his precious machine as the accident so sadly proved. Norwood was giddy with the success as his brain tried to process and resurrect the dreams that had died along with the full capacity of his machine.

Alas, Ethan was there also, angry, upset and frightened. Determined to drag the brainy kid back to reality. Grabbing Norwood by the front of his shirt, Ethan shook him using one hand with surprising strength.

"Listen, Asshole. This isn't the time for celebrations and patting yourself on the back. Your first order of business is getting them back. Now answer his question."

Norwood blinked several times, his attention and budding fear of Ethan sharpened his focus but he had missed the question entirely. Ethan seeing the confused look on the kid's face, sighed with a growing impatience that was similar to his sister's and repeated, "How do we get them back and tell if there was any damage to the timeline?"

The scientist gulped several times then replied tightly because of the vice-like grip Ethan had on the collar of his t-shirt, "We can't and there's a way but it's not very useful."

"We can't get them back? Why?"

"The machine wasn't calibrated to transport anything of that size through the portal. Only something slightly larger than say a tree frog was supposed to go though. Does your friend know if the frog survived?"

**"**_**Yes the frog survived but I don't have him with me right now. He's in a terrarium on another continent. Ethan, why does the scientist sound so strange? Are we loosing the connection?"** _

"Sis, is that you? Thank God you're all right," Ethan said with another sigh of relief and as an afterthought, he released Norwood from his strangling grip.

Emboldened by the woman's control over her brother, Norwood continued, "When the two of you trespassed into the containment field, your presence caused massive damage. Now, I couldn't transport a paperclip if I wanted to. The guy your brother knocked out cold was my and your ticket to bringing you back. He brought me the replacement components I needed to even attempt to make contact."

**"**_**What guy? Ethan?"** _

A sharp look at Norwood encouraged the other to softly murmur his name. "Sam"

"It's a sweeper named Sam. I've tied up a couple of his buddies in the alleyway.

**"**_**Ethan, listen to me, this is very important. Sam is extremely dangerous. What I need you to do is to tie him up. His whole body not just his wrists and ankles, and then blindfold him. When you're done sit him next to the radio and let me speak to him. It's important that he doesn't see your face. Got it?"** _

"Yeah. Give me a couple minutes." Turning to Norwood, Ethan said brusquely, "Help me with this. Once he wakes up, he's not going to be in an understanding mood. What should I call you?" Ethan asked unnecessarily—the voices had already told him the kid's name.

"Norwood. That's my first name, not my last. Everyone thinks it's my last name for some bizarre reason."

"Okay, Norwood. While we're doing this, talk to them. They'll need to know everything you do so they can get back to where they belong."

"Like what?" He asked confusedly, while handing Ethan a long length of computer cabling to crisscross Sam's body.

"Like what's going on. What was your experiment all about?"

"Okay. Well, I was trying to transport a tiny object into the past. I injected the frog with an age preservative calibrated to my machine's harmonics. That alone took me over a year to formulate. Then I programmed my computer to track any changes he may have on the timeline but it was only afterwards that I realized how futile that would be.

"Why?" Ethan asked while he finished using an old sailor's knot his foster father had shown him on Sam's wrists. Next the sweeper's tie was used as a blindfold.

**"**_**Because no one knows what would happen if anyone or thing altered the time line. You would logically assume that Time would automatically adjust to the changes and impose its adjustments throughout the time continuum. There wouldn't be any way of knowing what occurred because the adjustments would affect everyone and thing affected by time," Jarod answered. "When do you think you'll be able to get your machine back online?"** _

"Who is this guy? And how does he know all this stuff?"

"He's my big brother and a genius to boot. Just answer his question," Ethan replied wearily as he stepped back to inspect their work.

**_"Geez, your brother _and_ your sister got sent back. Man, I had no idea," Norwood replied thoughtfully. Never before had he taken the time to examine the ramifications of any of his actions. Now here was an unintentional victim of his science standing in front of him. With unaccustomed empathy Norwood answered, staring directly at Ethan._**

"It'll take me at least a couple months to get everything repaired and ready. I lost my schematics so making adjustments will be difficult," Norwood lied smoothly. You can't loose what you never wrote down in the first place. "That's a best case scenario. Unfortunately, reality's a bitch 'cause there are a number of components I still need and I'm fresh out of money."

_**Parker took the microphone from Jarod and spoke hurriedly to their half-brother. "Ethan, you don't have that kind of time. I'll send Sam away, but once he's gone, you've got to get out of there. Knowing the Centre, there's been a full-scale search going on for me and there's no telling if they are watching each other. Do what you have to, then disappear." **_

_**Jarod saw in her face how much she loved their brother. He shared her sorrow but had further instructions for Ethan. "Little Brother, once you get rid of Sam, breakdown the machine. Move it, so the Centre won't be able to gain access to it. There's no telling what would happen if it fell into the wrong hands. Don't worry about us, we're okay and I promise, I'll look after your sister."**_

The blow was devastating to Ethan. He had just found his siblings and now the two who were the most precious people in the world to him were stripped away. Without saying a word, he leaned on the makeshift desktop and leaned forward into his pain—trying to minimize the expanse of grief as it spread quickly though his mind. The messages from the voices were proven correct, his own inner voice whispered that he had been forewarned but not all was lost. He could continue to talk to them using this contraption or a modification of it until everything was in working order once again.

Norwood watched Ethan with a heavy heart. He too had brothers and sisters and though he usually brushed them aside, he couldn't imagine never seeing them again whenever he chose. Compartmentalizing his sudden brush with empathy, Norwood asked with a flash of scientific insight and growing curiosity, "Hey, you weren't prepped like the frog. Did you regress? Physically are you alright?"

**"_Our bodies were regressed to our late teens—early twenties but our mind's are still intact. We're still the same as we ever were inside. Norwood, there are some things Ethan will tell you about the people you've been in contact with. We're not exaggerating when we say they're dangerous. Ethan, take him to Dad. He'll know what to do and he has all the evidence to convince Norwood to stay clear of the Centre." With that Jarod began to tell his half-brother what he wanted him to tell his family. His message was terse but succinct. He wanted them to go on with their lives and not to worry about him._**

Ethan bowed his head as he committed Jarod's words to memory. Norwood watched Ethan as he nodded sadly to his brother's requests. The young scientist hated witnessing any display of emotion but knew there was no helping this and in part he was responsible for Ethan's distress. The lady's warning coupled with Jarod's instructions made Norwood nervous about his invention. It seemed that if he continued working with Sam, his invention would've been taken from him. When Sam began to stir, Norwood touched Ethan's arm gently.

"He's waking up."

**"_Ethan before he wakes all the way up, I just wanted to umm, I need..." Parker was becoming overwhelmed by emotion. Then fiercely bringing herself together she said, "You're the cutest little kid. I'm proud to be your sister and I'll miss _you**_** more than you'll ever know. Take whatever you want from my place in Blue Cove, including the bed and TV, they're yours, just be careful and don't get caught while you're doing it. Look in my hiding place, there's some important documents that deal with my estate and then contact my lawyers. They'll give you access to everything. Take care of yourself and promise me never, ever feed any girl that dreadful concoction of Spam, pepper and dill. I almost had to hurl."** _

Only his sister could've coaxed a smile out of him at a time like this. Through the tears that were threatening to fall, he recalled his taste test. It might prove to be the last time he would ever see her. Instead of breaking under the incredible grief, her voice—so much like their mother's, revitalized him.

"Take care of each other."

Sam listened groggily and tested his bindings. Norwood tightened the belt securing his ankles and looked up at Ethan, who had turned around revealing his reddened eyes but impassive expression.

"Okay, the sweeper's awake now."

_**Parker then began to tell Sam that she was safe and as far from the Centre as she could manage. There was no way for any of them to find her. She then gave him detailed instructions on what to do and how to fabricate the evidence he would be required to hand over to Raines. Then she abruptly switched gears and told him what she wanted him to tell her co-worker friends Sydney and Broots, concluding inexplicably, to advise Sydney to believe whatever Angelo told him of her whereabouts. Odds were the Empath was right on the money regardless of how impossible it sounded.** _

"I understand, Miss Parker. Is there anything else I can do or can help?"

**"_Yes, one other thing. One of the men who tied you up may call on you to help him. I would consider it a favor if you would help him under the radar—no reason for the Centre to know anything about it. Take care of yourself. The other two who came with you are in the alley. You'll be untied and led outside. The one who knocked you out is a well-meaning friend of mine. He didn't mean any harm. Oh and Sam, this is the last thing I'll ever ask of you—don't look for him and forget about his presence in all your after-action reports._**

"You got it, Miss Parker. Good Luck."

**"**_**Thank you, Sam."** _

With that, Norwood helped Ethan untie the sweeper and lead him to the doorway of the warehouse. Ethan was the first to speak.

"You brought some components to fix the radio. Give me a list of what you brought and they'll be returned to you by morning."

Without speaking a word, Sam reached inside his jacket and retrieved the packing list that came with the items Broots shipped out. Ethan took the paper from him and unwrapping the expensive tie from around the sweeper's eyes, he tapped the larger man on the shoulder and swiftly closed the door before he had a chance to turn around and get a look at Miss Parker's other brother.

"He's gone now," Norwood said loudly for the other's benefit. "Look, if I break down my machine, it could take me some time before I can reassemble it again," he whined.

"I'll help you take it apart. I'm an engineer of sorts, don't worry, we'll be able to put it back together again. I'll use some of my sister's money and my brother's contacts to get the components you need to get things working."

**"_We'll attempt to make contact in a couple weeks. If I'm unable to reach you then, I'll try again a couple weeks after that until we can reach each other again."_**

"I'll do my best, Jarod. I'll write down the frequency we've reached you at and I'll make sure to have someone monitor this frequency once we're up and running."

**"**_**Ethan, contact a man named Broots. Tell him I sent you and ask for the components on Sam's list. He was probably the person who put together Sam's list," Parker said quickly. Then she explained how he could reach Broots and exactly what to say to the tech genius to keep their request confidential.** _

Hastily writing down her instructions, Ethan replied, "Okay, I've got it. That should speed things up considerably." A brief pause slipped by when Ethan said clearly, but quietly, "Take care of yourselves and each other. I love you both."

"Same here," Jarod replied quietly, as the connection was suddenly severed.


	16. Wouldn't it be nice?

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual disclaimer

**Time to Consider  
Chapter 16  
By Callisto**

**Wyman Cabins  
****Lake Catherine, VT**

Jarod looked over at her with deep concern. It seemed for most of her life she lost everyone precious to her, just at the moment when she began to reach out. He was forced to acknowledge to himself that if he had suffered as she, he too would become as reluctant to put his heart out on the line again. Yet, that's what he was about to ask her to do. For him the question of returning to their time had long since been settled—never.

The weight of what had occurred pressed down on her mind. There was a mixture of guilt and relief that permeated her spirit. As much as she wanted to be reunited with the adult version of Ethan, she was equally if not more reluctant to lose her mother again. Here, she still had Ethan. It seemed as though she had already made her decision without being entirely conscious of doing so. She pushed aside the horror of the very real possibility of never seeing the adult Ethan again but knew it was for the best. If he continued dropping by Blue Cove, Raines eventually would've stumbled on the truth. Here, Ethan still heard the voices but wasn't plagued as he had been in her time. Perhaps that was the result of not having Raines anywhere around him. For the first time in her life, she could have her cake and eat it too, instead of being shown what was tasty and having it snatched away the moment she placed the morsel to her lips. Abruptly realizing that neither had said a word for several minutes, she looked up into Jarod's caring and anxious eyes. A soft sigh escaped from her lips at the look on his face.

"Don't worry, I'm not about to fall apart," she snapped defensively.

"I didn't think you would—at least not in front of me. As long as Ethan gets the schematics for the machine, we'll be able to stay in contact with him. However, there are still some things we need to discuss."

"Yes there are. Namely, with your family leaving, how are we supposed to keep in touch with each other?" she asked with the merest hint of weary disappointment.

He suddenly smiled fondly at her as he replied, "You don't have much confidence in me, do you? I keep my promises, Miss Parker. No. From now on, I think I'll call you Mari, it suits you better."

She continued to stare at him with guarded impassivity, which he took for consent,and continued, "I haven't discussed this with my parents because I wanted to speak with you first." Allowing several seconds pause, he plunged on. "I still haven't made up my mind as to what I want to be when I grow up," he said with a conscious smile. "While I'm deciding, I think touring abroad for a year would help me figure a few things out. From what I understand, it was a common occurrence in this decade for young people to leave home to 'find themselves.' And if I happen to be in the same country while a certain person is auditioning her talent, then I would like to be there for her. Even if she does underestimate her abilities."

Her jaw dropped in surprise. No one, save her mother and occasionally Mr. Parker, had ever cared about her to this extent; Tommy never got the chance. Ever cautious, she neutralized her expression and asked evenly, "Are you sure about this?"

He tilted his head to one side and continued staring at her as he replied, "Yes." Then he looked at her with an entirely different expression, one that he had recently started giving her.

Parker leaned back against a tree and returned his stare. 'Ah, he's giving me that wife and kiddies look again.' Something inside her chest stirred in answer to his expression. 'Who knew a few energetic moments in bed would be all it would take for Genius to start giving me that look? Thankfully no one because I would've never thought it possible for _me_ to like that expression on him.' Remaining silent, she stood and walked over to the transponder, shutting it off without disturbing the setting. Then squatting down she did the same to the radio, silencing its crackling static. Carefully placing it in the worn duffle bag Jarod had brought it in, she looked over at him, her face inches from his.

"I hope you've thought this through," she warned quietly. Leaning forward, she kissed him hard on the mouth. Jarod wrapped an arm around her waist and touched the side of her face with his other hand as she repositioned her kiss, softened then erotically drew out the caress. Playing with his mouth and tongue, she finally drew away from him, knowing full well he was close to insisting on making love to her.

"Not today. Our watcher is still out there and growing restless. Let's get out of here. I've got to get back and you've got some 'splaining to do for your parents."

"You did that on purpose," he accused with frustrated heat.

"I did," she nodded in agreement as she released a sigh of her own pent-up desire. "Thought you might need a gentle reminder as to why you're pissing your parents off so royally."

He rose with her and taking the radio in one hand, he caught her around the waist with the other and received another kiss for encouragement.

* * *

**Lakeside Bed & Breakfast  
Lake Catherine, VT**

The following day, Jarod walked over to the Inn. The previous night had been difficult. Announcing to his family that he wouldn't be returning home with them was one of the toughest things he had to do. Oddly, both his parents seemed to have expected it. The wrinkle he threw in about traveling abroad was what shocked them. Jarod asked his father for a substantial loan, promising with the utmost sincerity that he would repay it promptly. The major stared at his son incredulously. Jarod rarely, if ever, broke a promise. What had the major curious was how Jarod figured to make good on his word.

What followed was a series of demanding questions and concerns, which Jarod answered readily. He freely admitted that Mari was the principle reason he wanted to travel. The chance to explore a relationship with her a driving force. At last when there was little more to be said or challenged, Jarod reminded his father that in going to OTS he would be away from the family for the better part of a year and since hanging around home was out of the question, this was the most viable solution he could imagine. There had been a small opportunity open where he could've taken the advantage and try to explain what had occurred to him—the time phase, the fact he was really a 40-something year old man and not a green 20 year old indecisive kid. Reality assaulted him,though,as he quickly examined his options and came to terms that he had no evidence or proof supporting his claims. Not willing to blow his currently established credibility with his parents, Jarod decided that remaining silent would be the best course.

Today, he felt good—resolved. He wanted to see Mari again and let her know his good news. Jarod knew his own heart and understood what he wanted from her. The one thing his confinement in the Centre had taught him was the power of introspection. As he neared the Inn, he spotted a flash of white from the corner of his eye. Pausing, he stared in that direction before continuing on cautiously. In another few seconds the flash of white appeared again, this time in front of him. A wide, appreciative and affectionate grin sprang readily to his face. Standing in his way on the worn footpath was Parker, wearing the white dress he had used as a clue before they both were sucked into the temporal portal. The Irish lace bodice fit snuggly on her body and the gently flared skirt showed off her deeply tanned legs. What complimented the picture was her hair. She had dyed it back to its natural warm brunette color and cut it so that now it was just past the top of her shoulders and styled loosely in a similar style she habitually wore it in their time frame.

"You like?" she asked provocatively, if unnecessarily. She noticed with triumph the appreciative astonishment on his face. He wore his admiration plainly in his eyes.

"You're a very beautiful woman. Though I admit I'm surprised you still have the dress. I would've thought that you left it back at the university. It's a good thing you didn't. It compliments you." He replied as his eyes roamed every inch of her bride-like visage.

"Ana, our housekeeper back home, took it up in a few places so it would fit. And for your information, I never left your clues behind. I forwarded your notes on to the Centre to keep them off my back. This, I stuffed it in my waistband next to my 9mm when you decided to go trolley hopping."

"Where is your 9mm?" he asked with sudden seriousness.

A delighted laugh was his answer as she walked up to him. "Back home in a locked box so Ethan can't get his eager little hands on it."

Jarod looked down at her and pulling her closer said, "I've told my parents about my plans. They didn't take it too well in the beginning but at least they weren't too surprised. That helped because they eventually wore down and agreed to loan me the money for the trip—especially after I vowed to pay them back. The only catch is that I also promised to return home for the holidays. I couldn't refuse them."

"Of course not. The timing will be good because I usually return home from school for the holidays. Mama will be as predictable as the seasons and decorate the entire house for the holidays—American style. You know, last year she actually made boiled dry cod edible?" she asked rhetorically with a pensive shake of her head. "Do you realize it will be the first time either of us as adults will spend the holidays with our parents?"

"I'm looking forward to it. Unfortunately, Ben will be here," Jarod replied slowly. Her reference to what she enjoyed last year caught him off guard.

"He's leaving with us. Apparently meeting me and Ethan has given him the impetus to take the chance and start being a husband and father instead of allowing the Centre to dictate his life."

"It'll give him the time he needs to get to know you and Ethan," he said as they began to saunter slowly towards the Inn. Parker had her arm around Jarod's waist and was leaning lightly against him. Relishing the warmth radiating from her, Jarod closed his eyes and buried his nose in her fragrant hair. "I like your hair better this way."

"It had grown out so much, it was either lighten it again or dye it my natural color. My mother helped me do it. It's wonderful having her here, being able to enjoy those long morning talks we used to have. Lately though, I think she's starting to suspect that I'm seeing someone but she's being very discrete."

"I'm tired of being discrete. For once, one of Kyle's practical jokes hit home. If I hear that song, 'Wouldn't it be nice' one more time, I think I'll have to retaliate," said he peevishly.

His comment and irritated tone of voice made her pause. She started to laugh at the unintentional double-entendre irony of Kyle's joke. Recalling the song's lyrics made her laugh wholeheartedly. While doing so, she leaned further into his body and squeezed him lovingly.

This was the sight that greeted Catherine Parker as she watched the couple walk slowly towards her. She had become concerned over her daughter's re-emergent need for privacy. Like Ethan, Catherine wasn't eager for her daughter's return to her old ways. The long conversations and subtle confidences they shared had long been missing in her life. It was the glue that kept mother and daughter as friends. Though she was still volatile and willful, Mari's shocking maturity had surfaced unexpectedly. This made the sight that greeted her extremely disturbing. Mari was dressed beautifully in a gorgeous white dress that set off both her dark hair and even tan magnificently. Her daughter was laughing and leaning with intimate casualness against an extremely handsome young man who was looking at her Mari like he had fallen hopelessly in love.

The young man was the first to look up to see Catherine staring at them unhappily. Without saying a word, he brought Mari's attention to Catherine's presence. That cut her laughter short but a lovingly contented smile remained plastered on her face. As though coming to a decision, Mari urged her reluctant young man more quickly forward. When they were within a few feet, Mari widened her smile and said quietly, "Hi, Mom. I don't know why I haven't before, but there's someone I want you to meet." With obvious pride the girl said, "Jarod, this is my mother, Catherine. Mama, this is Jarod."

Catherine noted the pride in her daughter's voice when referring to her but this made only a tiny dent in her disapproval. There were so many opportunities open for her daughter and a young puppy like this would only provide distractions. On top of that, his name was disturbingly familiar—but he couldn't be _that_ child.

Jarod stared at Catherine Parker for the first time as an adult. He was shocked to see the differences between the women. Looking at pictures, they were identical however in the flesh, they weren't. It was mainly in attitude and overall mien where the two differed so drastically. Catherine's eyes were a grayish-blue and their expression was far from the distracted, care-worn and trapped woman he remembered from his original past. And though his memories were that of a woman whose will had been worn down with paranoia and bad decisions, the person staring at him so balefully now gave the impression of incredible strength. As Harriet Tashman once had told him, Catherine possessed a light, she hadn't been kidding. This was the Catherine Parker who had made the earlier entries in the diaries, the former second-in-command of Centre operations. The force of her personality and character was stamped all over her features and the quietly measured look in her eyes revealed the depth of her intelligence. That intelligence was so blatantly obvious that Jarod wondered why the Centre ever bothered with children and didn't look to its own top executives for the ever-elusive gene. 'Then again, perhaps they had,' he thought as he tightened his grip on Parker. Where Parker's bravery came from an innate courage, her mother's came from an innate need to help others. Where Catherine was giving and open, Parker possessed a warmth and covert compassion. Seeing the two of them together was endlessly fascinating.

Using the skills he had been painstakingly taught, Jarod controlled his expression and adopting an insouciant air, greeted his lover's mother. Catherine caught his adjustment immediately.

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Ferrer. Mari has told me a great deal about you." Then without pause, Jarod shifted his gaze to Ben who just walked up and politely said, "Sir."

"Oh, that's my father, Ben, this is Jarod. I told you about him."

"So, your name is Jarod? Interesting," Catherine asked with well-concealed disquiet. She remained less than happy at Jarod's appearance. It was her reaction to him that he noticed Parker was either oblivious to or simply ignored.

"Yes. My family and I are staying at the Wyman Cabins."

"Maritza, I would like to speak to you alone for a few moments. You have some explaining to do, young lady," Catherine said in rapid and fluent Portuguese. Turning to Jarod who understood every word, she said in English, "Excuse us." With that, Catherine held out her arm for Parker to join her. Jarod watched them walk away with dread spreading to the pit of his stomach.

**Author's Note: **'_Wouldn't it be nice' _is a Beach Boy's song from 1969. What is so amusing are the 1st few lines of the song.

_Wouldn't it be nice if we were older, Then we wouldn't have to wait so long  
And wouldn't it be nice to live together, In the kind of world where we belong  
_


	17. Not ever, ever again

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements  
**Author's note: **A special thanks for all those who reviewed the last chapter. Your comments inspired me to make a few modifications in a later chapter.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 17  
****By Callisto  
**

_**Lakeside Inn Bed & Breakfast  
**__**Lake Catherine, VT**_

Jarod watched the women walk slowly away with a feeling of dread. The look on Catherine's face was far from favorable however, he hoped the blatant signals he had perceived from Parker's behavior and the affectionate warmth radiating from her was as deeply felt as he thought. Completely forgetting that he had company, Jarod looked confusedly at Ben when the other began speaking.

"I'm sorry?"

"You look like a man who's been invited to his own funeral. My Catherine's formidable but Mari has a backbone too you know," the older man responded with a light chuckle.

Shaking off his oncoming dour mood, Jarod stuck out his hand and said politely, "It's nice meeting you, Sir."

Ben returned the handshake, then waved him off kindly. "Please call me Ben. Are you the fellow who helped my daughter ship that gunman off to Florida?"

"The sweeper? Yes, I helped her," Jarod replied with a short distracted nod.

Their small talk was cut short when Major Abernathy walked up. "Hi, I thought I would find you here. I think it's time one of your parents met her parents."

"Hi, Dad. This is Ben Miller, Mari's father."

The two men shook hands with the major finishing up the introduction by giving his name. The two adults chuckled good-naturedly at Jarod's distraction.

"He's concerned because my wife isn't too thrilled with our daughter presenting a boyfriend out of the blue. Jarod's been good for her from what I can see. She definitely hasn't been the handful her reputation has built her up to be."

"Well, there's a little more to it than that," the major began slowly.

"Dad, Mari hasn't had a chance to speak to her parents yet. Maybe it would be best if we waited."

"Jarod, we're leaving on Sunday, just how long were you thinking we should wait?"

"Now you've got me curious. Why don't you join me inside for a drink and fill me in on what's going on. This might turn out for the best, Catherine's got a temper to match Mari's."

The three men entered the Inn, allowing the screen door to provide ample circulation of what little breeze there was to cool the already warm living room area. As Ben retrieved a couple of beers, Major Abernathy filled him in on Jarod's decision to follow Mari to Europe in search of a career.

Looking directly at Jarod, the major said, "My son has recently become a fervent reader of the stock exchange and business news but he keeps refusing to take an open position at a major corporation back home."

"Dad, we've been through this. I think this is the best solution for me. I'll only see Mari when she's finished with her classes and won't interrupt her studies."

As the major was about to retort, they heard a woman's scream coming from the direction of the garage.

Catherine had led Mari away towards the garage and privacy. The affectionately encompassing look on Jarod's face was enough to concern her, never seeing him before was irksome but the odd coincidence of his name was further cause to worry. Before she could start, Mari began speaking.

"Mama, I remember once when I was little, you told me that I would find someone who would love me." Breaking from her mother's arm, Parker skipped ahead, whirled around to face the older woman and brought her hands to her face, covering the toothy grin she couldn't stop. "I believe I have. I wouldn't have ever thought it originally, but he's perfect for me, we understand each other in a way no one here ever will. Please just be happy for me."

This was a different tactic. Usually Mari would simply demand what she wanted and offer clever and insistent arguments to get her way. "Sweetheart, I'm glad you think you've found the love of your life, but you're seventeen. You have your whole life in front of you; they'll be other boys who will catch your eye. What's so different with _this_ one?"

Parker's sardonic laugh showed off her true age. "You speak like I have so much time to find someone. I know for a fact that they're plenty of men out there. A lot of them wouldn't mind getting me into bed but very few would hang around long enough to even find out what my first name is." Walking up to her mother, Parker enclosed one of her mother's hands in both of her own and said with calculated excitement, "He's someone who'll love me right. And for once there's someone who'll cling to _me_ instead of insisting that I go away with him and change my entire life. Please trust me and don't deny me this."

Catherine looked at Mari keenly. There was something about the level of maturity in her daughter's argument that caught her imagination and made her wonder. In Maritza's eyes, she saw hope, guarded certainty and unmovable intransigence. Nowhere in her daughter's argument did she mention her current entanglements. Catherine felt if she weren't careful there would be problems hanging around the villa in droves. Not wanting to push her daughter completely away, she realized limits had to be set. She allowed her shoulders to droop in defeat. Catherine was on the brink of partially conceding when a sudden blazing headache caused her to shut her eyes to ride out the pain.

Her distress didn't go unnoticed. Parker saw her mother flinch, then bring a hand up to her brow and knew almost immediately what was happening. Without hesitation, she quickly ducked into the garage to grab the aspirin bottle she kept there for her post-ballet workouts.

Parker had been gone only a minute but during this interval and while Catherine was beginning to breathe through the pain and listen to what the voices were stridently trying to tell her, a shadow fell over her providing an unexpected and unsettling coolness from the heat of the sun. Looking up, Catherine saw a handsome young man, not much older than Jarod, standing in front of her.

"So you must be the mother. You're actually better looking than your daughter. That's a shame because it'll be such a waste but then you'll have your kid to thank for that. Your ex-husband will probably give me a bonus for killing you, though I would've done it for free."

Parker was on the brink of running back outside when she heard a man speaking to her mother. It was her habit to listen when others were unaware. That was the only way you learned anything of any value in the Centre. This time what she heard made her brain shut down. The voices that tried to reach her had been effectively shut out. A blind rage had taken over and controlled her every action. With the skills she had been taught as a cleaner and then as an executive, Parker moved swiftly. Walking to the wall of tools, she chose a heavy tire iron as her weapon. No longer capable of balanced thought, she paused by the door, peeking out. Damon's back was to her as she took two quick steps towards him.

This time Damon was ready but not quick enough. He turned at the sound of the first footfall, by the second; Parker was in mid-swing and connected with Damon's forehead felling the sociopath with an ease that would embarrass him yet again. He fell bonelessly to the ground in a heap. The silenced 9mm still clutched in his gloved hand.

Parker was raising the tire iron again and brought her arm so far back that the swing would've caved the sweeper's head in, if Catherine hadn't screamed and stopped her daughter's arm before she could finish the job. It was this scream that brought the three men in the house outside immediately and Damon'sback-up in a fumbling rush back to his vantage point while he was in the middle of taking an impromptu bathroom break.

Jarod was the first on the scene and quickly assessing the problem, immediately went over to Parker. Wrapping one arm around her waist he easily lifted her away from her mother's grasp and used the other to wrestle the tire iron from her fierce grip using a martial arts maneuver.

"No!" was her primal scream at the man who threatened her mother's life. It was all Jarod could do to keep her within his grasp. Catherine looked at her child with utter amazement. Never had she seen such fierceness in Mari, nor such determined and focused violence.

Ben and Major Abernathy quickly followed Jarod. Ben glanced from his enraged daughter to the stunned look on his wife's face. "Catherine, what happened?"

The major looked at the strange tableau and glanced from a calming Parker, with his son still struggling to contain her, to the familiar face of the last woman on earth he wanted to see—Catherine Parker. His eyes widened in surprise as he gazed at her face, then looked down at the prone man. "Will somebody tell me what the hell is going on here?"

Jarod squeezed Parker's body against his own, then whispered into her ear, "Calm yourself. Tell me what happened?"

"That monster threatened my mother. He said he was going to kill her—take her away from me. Never again, not _ever_ again."

Jarod turned her around to break her concentration from Damon's prone form and to focus on him. "Listen to me. They sent him here again to kidnap you. I need you to concentrate and tell me exactly what happened."

Catherine spoke up for her daughter. "We were talking quietly when I was struck with one of my migraine headaches. Mari ran inside the garage, then this man walked up and started threatening me. Saying something about how my ex-husband would view my death as a bonus. Then he started to point that weapon when Mari came out and hit him over the head. I thought she was going to kill him."

"But are you hurt? Did he get a shot off?" the major asked with increasing concern.

Catherine looked at him for the first time. Her reaction to seeing him was similar to his. "What are _you_ doing here?" Then the entire situation sprang into her mind like a tape fast forwarding. "Jarod's your son, isn't he?"

"Yes Catherine, he is," the major replied with a sigh.

Ben looked from one to the other in amazement. "You two know each other?"

Catherine placed her hands on either side of her head and rubbed her temples. "We know each other from a long time ago. The major helped me correct a wrong at the Centre and we haven't seen each other since."

By this time, Parker had turned to gaze at her mother and the major. It was during their unhappy reunion that a glint of light coming from behind the makeshift stonewall adjacent to the woods caught his eye. Pulling Parker to the side, Jarod whispered urgently to her. There're two of them this time. The other one's behind the stonewall, using the forest for cover." He spoke quietly but the three embroiled adults could hear what he was saying.

"Ben, stay here with Damon. Jarod, can you take care of the guy behind the wall? I'm going inside to check on my brother," she ordered quickly. Her instructions were given with crisp authority and in the same concise way she had learned while at the Centre. In such an emotionally charged situation, no one questioned that a teenaged girl had taken control. Jarod nodded unhesitatingly as they both ran towards the Inn but split up at the front with Parker going inside and Jarod circling around the structure to catch the second sweeper off guard. He had already sprinted to the far side of the wall and hopped over quietly. It was the second set of footfalls that causedhim to turn in surprise. The major had kept step with his son.

"You don't think I'm going to let you take on a sweeper by yourself, do you?" he whispered calmly.

Jarod traded smirks with his father, as they crept up on the sweeper. Jarod fanned out further, using the forest for cover to completely encircle the sweeper while the major approached from along the wall keeping the barrier between himself and the sweeper. Cox heard the older man approach and keeping his eyes glued to the action near the garage, he surreptitiously fingered the 9mm out of its holster and aimed it at the faint noises approaching along the wall. A loud crack from a broken twig caused the sweeper to whip his head in the direction of the noise, providing the major with enough time to rush the sweeper. Cox realized his mistake immediately and was about to shoot when he felt a light tapping on his shoulder and everything went black.

"Good work son. I think you hit him a little harder than necessary but the result's what counts."

"I know how Mari feels. He was aiming this at you and would've used it if I hadn't hit him," Jarod replied as he kick-rolled the unconscious sweeper over and opened his field jacket revealing the unholstered weapon.

"Ben said she's a handful and he wasn't lying. Why didn't you tell me who her parents were?

"I had no idea you knew them. How do you know Catherine Ferrer, Dad?"

With a deep sigh, the major removed the sweeper's pant's belt and began using it to secure his feet. "It's a long story. And from the look on your face, I'm going to have to tell you about it. It all started with your mother and I having trouble conceiving. We went to this place called NuGenesis. It was only later that I was informed the clinic was associated with a corporation called the Centre. They're methods succeeded in producing you. Well, by the time you were a toddler, these Centre people wanted you to attend a special school because you were so smart. The day before your first day of school, Catherine, her name was Parker back then, came up and warned me that if I let you go to that school, I would never see you again. She didn't explain other than she had heard from a reliable source that the Centre had already arranged your kidnapping. I don't know, maybe it was the frightened look in her face or the certainty in her voice but I believed her. I took you, your mother and brother and disappeared. We never looked back. I changed our names and your mother home schooled you boys for a couple years before we allowed you back into the school system. Only then it was under yet another assumed name. About a year after that, Catherine somehow tracked me down again, this time asking for my help in rescuing a boy the Centre had kidnapped from his parents. All my instincts told me not to get involved. It sounded like a nasty piece of business and I didn't want any part of it. I thought that was the end of it until the bitch blackmailed me," he said bluntly with renewed fury. "Said she would tell the Centre how to find us if I didn't help. So I got myself drafted, then we both almost got ourselves captured and killed over a little boy who screamed and yelled the whole way unless he was in Catherine's arms. Bizarre." The major shook his head in disbelief at the memory. "At first I thought the kid was hers only to find out he wasn't. I washed my hands of the whole scene and told her that was the end of my obligation. She helped me save my son, now I helped her save a kid who didn't seem to want saving. She thanked me and that's the last time I ever saw her until today."

During the major's story, the two men had hogtied the sweeper and lifting him up by the arms, dragged him back to the others by the garage. Jarod listened to his father's story with fascination. It was similar to what had occurred on his side of the timeline, only then they had met with failure.

"Dad, do you remember the little boy's name you rescued?"

"Yeah, why? What difference does it make?"

"I'm curious," Jarod replied. Then thinking quickly he added casually, "You never know, one of these guys might be that kid."

The major huffed in disbelief. "I doubt that. I saw her reunite the boy with his grateful mother. It was a good thing she did, I just wished she had blackmailed some other obligated idiot and not involve me. From what I can remember the boy's name was Tommy or Timmy. Something like that."

Jarod nodded thoughtfully. With Timmy rescued from the Centre, none of the others came close to the level of ability the Centre needed—not even Alex. The rescue worked and crippled the Pretender project forever. It made Jarod proud that his father had a part in the accomplishment, albeit a reluctant part.

When they rejoined the others, father and son abruptly released the sweeper with a sense of disgust as the body landed heavily on the ground. Jarod and the major looked over at Damon, to find him securely duct taped. Ben immediately moved over to the second sweeper and began using the tape to blindfold and gag his mouth. The major raised his eyebrows thoughtfully as Ben wound the tape blithely around the sweeper's entire head. Getting that stuff off was going to hurt and pull out some hair for sure.


	18. Messages

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for details

**Author's note: Warning-there is some adult language in this segment.** My sincere thanks to those of you who have reviewed. Some of the issues expressed in those reviews will be addressed in a later chapter—namely the confrontation between a certain mother & daughter. I wish everyone a Merry Christmas/Happy Holidays and a wonderful New Year!

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 18  
****By Callisto  
**

**Lakeside Bed & Breakfast Inn – Past  
****Lake Catherine, VT**

Parker came out of the Inn to join them. After rushing up to Ethan's room, she was surprised to find the door locked. She pounded onhis door loudly and desperately when eventually a tired little boy opened the door and blinked at his sister questioningly.

"I feel asleep reading. I helped Daddy help the boatman really early this morning. What's wrong?"

"Your door was locked. I thought something was wrong," she replied with a rush of relief as she squatted down to his eye level.

"Mama says that while I'm here, I have to keep the door locked so no one can sneak in on me. It's kinda dumb but the voices said I should do it too."

As he gave his explanation, Ethan found himself wrapped in a warm embrace his sister had recently become fond of giving him. He sleepily draped himself over her shoulders in his approximation of a hug. Gently pulling him within arms length, she said, "I'm sorry I woke you up. Go back to sleep and lock the door again. Don't let anyone in until either Mama or I come and get you, understand?" His answer was a violent yawn and a vague nod as he slammed the door shut and engaged the locking mechanism.

Everyone watched her as she approached the solemn tableau. Again her eyes were glued to Damon's prone form. "We have to send them back with a stronger message."

"Kitten, let cooler heads prevail here. We'll return them boththe way you sent this fellow back the first time. I believe then, your uncle will have gotten the message that his sweepers are too incompetent to kidnap you or anyone in this family."

Jarod's eyebrows went up slightly at the endearment Ben used in addressing his daughter. Parker tore her eyes from Damon and looked at her father before returning her focused glare on the man who threatened her mother. Only Jarod had an idea of the fear that was roiling around in her mind. A repeat of what had happened to her when she was twelve had almost occurred.

"I have a different idea for this one," Jarod spoke up nodding in Damon's direction. "I think more drastic measures are needed for him. He didn't get the message the last time and came back nastier. This time, I'm going to make sure he gets it. Why don't you go ahead and stow the other one on the bus?" he said to Ben, and then glancing at his watch he continued, "the next one shouldn't be here for another hour, so that gives you plenty of time."

Parker looked up into Jarod's curiously angry face and said solemnly, "I'm going with you."

"I wouldn't have it any other way," Jarod replied with a grim smile.

* * *

**_Montpellier Athletic Club  
Montpellier, VT_**

Several hours later, everything was prepared as the major looked up at his son's handiwork. "I think that ought to do it. You sure he won't be killed in there?"

Parker nodded and with her trademark shark-like grin replied, "We did put some padding back in there with him. My guess is that after the first day of pounding, his screams should be heard regardless of tape."

"Remind me never to get on your bad side," the major said half-jokingly.

Jarod was busily cleaning up all traces of their visit and subsequent changes to the gym equipment. Inside the athletic club for aspiring boxers hung Damon. His wrists were over his head and secured via an additional chain to the hook above. Padding was lightly placed around his exposed ribs and groin area, though Parker did remove a small portion of this when Jarod called his father over to help himclean up the displaced residue. Parker smiled as she stilled the heavy bag containing Damon. The inner lining of the bag would soak up any blood the athletes would draw from him in their zeal to become the next title holding boxing champion of the world. She didn't see the note Jarod had slipped into the sweeper's pocket giving the address of where he belonged. She could care less if Damon was returned to the Centre. His threats were enough and if he were unfortunate enough or stupid enough to come after anyone she loved again, Parker vowed quietly to herself that it would be the last time he would be anything again.

Their thorough understanding of the Centre and the need to send a definitive message caused another ripple to echo through the timeline. In their original reality, time seamlessly adjusted itself to reflect their actions. This change occurred primarily for Jarod. He no longer had the blood of another on his hands. At least not in the same way as he had formerly, instead of shooting Damon to death, Jarod had managed to wound him and rescue Broots unscathed. As a result, Jarod efficiently tied up Damon and placed a note on his body written in flawless Serbo-Croatian along with a clipping in that language detailing the bombing of their Roman embassy. To finish his work, Jarod then smuggled Damon's unconscious form onto the grounds of the Serbian embassy in D.C. and left him at the doorstep. The Serbian guards were more than happy to express their displeasure to Damon personally. As Jarod saw it, the Serbians were more than capable of doing their own killing.

**Dorado Iron Works - Present  
****Warehouse District  
****Buenos Aires, Argentina**

They worked non-stop for several hours. Ethan paused often to take notes and add crucial details to his rough diagram of the strange machine. As awkward as it looked, the design was ingenious. While he sat perched on a crate, Ethan stared at the machine, lost deep in thought. Norwood looked over at him, and decided to join the other in taking a break.

"You know, right now, I'm not sure if it's a question of whether or not you can pull them back to this time, but if they want to return. In the past they're in, most of the pain and misery they had gone through here, has yet to occur. They also have all their foreknowledge to dodge some of their own bad decisions. Plus, if Jarod is with my sister, then I doubt they're in or around the Centre. They both know it would be better to avoid it at all costs. I just wish I could be with them."

Norwood stared at Ethan thoughtfully. He should've mentioned this earlier but he didn't know how to say it without devastating this strange guy. From his conversation with the two time travelers, Ethan had saved his machine from being appropriated by a powerful and evil bunch of wealthy corporate types. There was a debt owed and the longer Norwood put it off, the harder it would become to tell the truth.

"It's weird how out of all the abandoned buildings in this district, they both stumbled into this one. Especially while I was in the middle of conducting an experiment," Norwood remarked quietly, trying to work his way to the truth.

"Our lives are riddled with weird coincidences. All of us have been victims of science in one way or another," Ethan replied absently. With a thoughtful frown, he continued, "I wouldn't be here if it wasn't for a madman who thought he could manipulate genetics. In a way, I was bred and my mother was tricked first into having me and then trusting the man who impregnated her with me."

"That's a strange way of referring to your father."

"He isn't my father. I'm the product of artificial insemination. If it weren't for him and his over-weaning ambition, I wouldn't exist."

"I seriously doubt that. Your sister said that you were a cute kid."

"What are you talking about?" Ethan asked wondering just how strange this scientist-kid was going to get.

"It's an odd thing for a grown woman to say about her adult brother. So I take it that she was referring to you on the other side of the timeline."

"We weren't raised together. How could she be referring to me, _there?_"

"What they're in is called a variant time phase. The temporal portal they went through had achieved complete stability…" Norwood went on to explain, in sometimes very technical terms, where and when Ethan's siblings had landed.

"But I don't understand how I could be there. What Mr. Raines did was an experiment. There was no way for him or anyone to know if the procedure would be successful."

Norwood stared at his companion. The pained, lonely expression in his eyes surprised the self-absorbed scientist. "I suppose I could comfort you by spouting all the sentimentalist, claptrap nonsense that I used to hear my parents tell others who had gotten bad news. As you can tell, I'm not like that. Always hated the half-assed attempts that gave the impression you actually gave a shit. So, I'll give it to you straight—everything happens for a reason. Whatever means that guy used to get you here in this time phase didn't mean much, especially if you're showing up in other variant timelines. You're here because you were meant to be here, so if that doctor is trying to pull some mind-numbing 'you owe me' obligation trip on you, tell him to stuff it."

Ethan blinked and stared at the skinny, unsentimental scientist without saying a word. Slowly a small smile of appreciation formed on his lips. The kid had a heart after all, a small one, granted but a heart after all.

"Before you start breathing a sigh of relief, there's something else you need to know," Norwood started slowly.

**Lakeside Bed & Breakfast Inn – Past  
Lake Catherine, VT**

The major, Jarod and Parker returned to the Inn, a quiet trio. Damon had been effectively contained and would feel the weight of his error in returning to kidnap Parker. Once inside the Inn, Ben offered the major a drink and handed him his request cordially. He noticed how Catherine and the major avoided looking at each other but said nothing.

After a long, uncomfortable moment, the major stood and finally looking directly at Catherine said, "I had no idea you were Mari's mother. As it is, Jarod has made up his mind to follow you to Europe. The reason I came here was to meet her parents to get an idea of kind of people he would be depending on. Meeting Ben allayed most of my fears but knowing you're involved, makes me breathe that much easier. All I'm asking is for you to look after him. If anything happens or he needs his family, please don't hesitate to call me. He's a bit headstrong but basically a good kid."

"While you were gone, Ben told me that Jarod wanted to tour around Europe. However, Mari has yet to speak to us about the their relationship," Catherine stated quietly as her gaze slid from the major to her daughter's face.

"We were rudely interrupted by a murderer," Parker murmured sarcastically under her breath.

"When we return, my daughter has some important obligations to keep. After that, she'll be returning to school to complete her education. I doubt that will leave much time for romantic notions," Catherine stated shooting her daughter a look.

"We'll look after him while he's with us. Telling you not to worry would be useless I know," Ben interrupted smoothly. The storm clouds of unfettered emotion were building quickly between mother and daughter.

"Dad, it would be best if all of us leave in the morning. The sooner we leave and remove all traces of ourselves from this place, the better. The Centre will come in force after they find their sweepers. The less they can find out about us and the fewer loose threads, then they will be forced to drop this lead."

Both men looked at Jarod with a mixture of curiosity and wonder. The major's curiosity was more greatly intermingled with pride than wonder. The speed with which Jarod had assessed and accurately analyzed the situation made the major nod slowly in agreement. Ben, on the other hand, wondered how much Mari had told Jarod about their family and its secrets. Still, the way both kids had dealt with the sweepers and Jarod's analysis of the situation indicated a deeper understanding than anything he had revealed.

"I couldn't have said it better. First off, you'll have to settle your accounts here in cash to cut off any paper trail. Have you used a credit card or checks for anything while you've been here?" Ben asked splitting his attention between father and son.

The major answered, "No, we know better. Besides, dealing in cash has become something of a habit. I made sure not to leave our correct address with the manager when we checked in as well. Other than yourselves and your daughter, we haven't had much contact with anyone else."

"Excellent. Then I think it would be best to start packing. If you need anything, please let us know," Ben said as he walked the major to the door. He continued speaking to the major as they left the Inn.

"Are we leaving already?" Ethan asked irritably. He was beginning to truly enjoy their vacation and his new father.

"Yes, sweetheart. Go upstairs and start packing. We'll be leaving in the morning," Catherine said gently but the command finality in her voice didn't leave room for argument. Ethan turned on his heel and started for his room, when he looked over his shoulder at his sister. "Mari, will you help me?"

"Your sister will be up in a few minutes, Ethan. You can get started on your own," Catherine pronounced with a subtle hint of impatience. Not wishing to push his mother any further, Ethan nodded and hopped up the stairs as noisily as possible in his 6 year-old's approximation of protest.

"Jarod, are you going to meet us here early or should I ask Ben to open a room here for you?" Parker inquired quietly. From her mother's carefully impassive expression, they were about to have one of their blow-out arguments. She frowned irritably at this thought. Since she had been thrust into this time phase, she and her mother hadn't really had a heated argument. How could she know what her mother looked like when she was _getting_ upset?

"I don't want to inconvenience him. How about we meet in front of the Inn around 6 o'clock?" he asked while noting the rising tension between the two beautiful women. Both were lovely, perhaps it was prejudice but he still thought Parker was supremely magnificent when she was highly irritated as she was quickly becoming with her mother.

"Sounds good," said she dryly. "That way, you'll know right off if I've survived the night intact." Rising from her seat gracefully, she walked him to the door, where consciously they exchanged a look that was as good as a kiss.


	19. Confrontations

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements

**Author's note: **I apologize for the delay in posting this chapter. My excuse is catching this horrible cold that I'm still battling today. Muay Thai is the violent sport of kickboxing that we know today. American kickboxing is very different and consequently not quite as effective as the Thai version.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 19  
****By Callisto  
**

**The Centre – Present**  
**Blue Cove, DE**

Chairman Raines stalked squeakily through the corridors of his hard fought victory with an unhappy heart. The report from Sam was unsatisfactory to say the least. The ridiculous claim that Miss Parker had sought then found refuge behind China's Iron Curtain was preposterous. Despite the evidence presented to confirm this assertion, Raines was still finding it hard to believe. On the surface, it sounded plausible. Parker was fluent in the language, both written and spoken but her contacts were most likely fictitious. Regardless of the find, Raines ordered his sweepers to continue searching for her and to find any traces of the route she used to reach her communist destination. It was the only place on the earth that existed in which neither he nor the Triumvirate had any influence. Explaining this to the judgmental trio would be tricky, but the evidence should convince them eventually and they would all be forced to let the matter drop. The problem with this was the very real possibility that Parker took, forced or invited Jarod to go along with her, effectively shielding him from the reach of the Centre and placing Raines in a very prickly position with his masters—a detail that he felt certain held a great deal of appeal for his fugitive executive.

* * *

**Lakeside Bed & Breakfast Inn  
****Lake Catherine, VT **

With a hand resting on the door jam, she remained at the closed screen door long after losing sight of him. Inside, she was reluctant to face the peeved woman behind her. This would mark the first time she ever had an argument with her mother—at least in this time frame. Never one to back away from a challenge, Parker howeverwasn't eager to come up against the wall that was her mother's will.

Worse than with her father, Parker knew she would cave faster than a sandcastle at high tide. Instead of exposing her sensitive side, she decided if push came to shove, to come out in front and inform her mother that she and Jarod would only see each other away from the villa. It would be a sacrifice and he wouldn't like it, but she was determined not to lose her only friend in an alien time frame where even her mother was an unknown quantity. It was the only thing that could drive her away from her family home quicker than she had planned. There was so much she still longed to know and understand about both her parents. But Jarod had become an unexpected constant in her life, just at the point when fate condescended to give her several constants where previously there had been none. Inhaling the sweet scent of summer breeze, Parker turned to face her mother.

Catherine had gotten comfortable in a large and roomy club chair. She was composed and serenely beautiful with her legs elegantly crossed and her arms resting regally on either side of the chair. It was her expressive blue eyes that bore holes into Parker, threatening to sweep away what little resolve she had. Before her was a beloved parent. One who had lied but then asked for forgiveness. One who had made mistakes and readily admitted to them without going through tired excuses. One who hadn't insisted on being trusted on the one hand while maintaining a complex web of lies on the other. Instead she knew a mutual respect had to exist between them. Here was a wonderful person who talked to her and listened as well—this wasn't going to be easy.

"Why is this the first time I'm hearing of this boy? You've never sneaked around before with your boyfriends which is leading me to believe there is something serious going on between the two of you that you're hiding."

Nonplussed by Catherine's unnervingly accurate assessment, Parker deflected to an area she could answer without lying. "Because I didn't want you to disapprove. You can't dislike what you don't know," Parker replied calmly. It was still strange hearing Jarod being referred to as a boy—even stranger as _her_ boyfriend.

"Well, unfortunately for you, I do disapprove. The only saving grace in this is that I know his father. Trevor Abernathy is a decent man. I can't imagine him raising a son who would shame him. Thanks to your generosity, I suppose we'll find out for sure," Catherine replied testily. She was irked on too many levels—one of which that Ben had kept Mari's little romance from her and that her husband was well on his way to pampering their already willful child.

"I guess that leaves out trusting me or my judgment," Parker retorted sharply.

"Young lady, so far your judgment has left a lot to be desired. I gave you your space, didn't question your whereabouts even when there were days we barely saw you for more than an hour or two. I deserve better from you. What exactly have you been doing with him?"

"_Mother_! I can't believe you're even asking me this," Parker responded disbelievingly. She never had discussions like this with her father, Mr. Parker.

"He's very good looking, no doubt extremely intelligent. It's obvious that he's in love with you. It would be extremely tempting…"

"I'm not having this conversation!" Parker yelled in 40-year old indignation.

"You're trying to convince me to trust your judgment. I bet the two of you haven't even discussed using condoms."

"Oh no you _didn't_ just go there! I'm too old to be in teenaged hell," she replied in miserable disbelief.

Catherine's brow wrinkled in momentary confusion. It seemed as though Mari was forgetting her own age. What next? "I think it would be best if you stepped away from this entanglement for a while to allow you to clear your head. Take some time to look at this objectively."

The sudden premonition that she was on the brink of losing Jarod made her suddenly anxious. Irritably pushing aside any chance of self-examination, Parker fired back. "My judgment kept that sadistic murderer from shooting you!"

"You almost killed him! What the devil came over you? He was a smug, evil-minded little wimp my ex-husband scraped up out of the garbage heap. He had no intentions of doing anything more than scaring me," Catherine reasoned. The voices in her head had told her otherwise.

"Scare you?!" Parker yelled incredulously. 'No wonder you fell for Raines' bull the other time,' she seethed under her breath. Looking up into her mother's angry eyes, she continued, "Mama, he would have killed you. Make no mistake about it. He's a sadistic, black-hearted man who takes pleasure in other's pain. He wouldn't have paused except to enjoy the agony on your face."

"How the hell do you know all this!? Have you met this man before?" Catherine asked with a sinking feeling.

"He tried to kidnap me a couple weeks or so ago. That's when Jarod and I sent him away. Just believe me when I say, that if he had the chance, he would've not only killed you but tried to make it as painful as possible." Quickly walking over to her mother, Parker gracefully dropped into a crouch by her chair. "Mama, if you ever see that man again, please promise me that you'll tell me. This is very important."

The fierce sincerity in her eyes made Catherine pause, cooling her ire. With her eyes still locked in her daughter's own, she reluctantly nodded, knowing that Maritza's reaction would be violent at least, murderous at most. Seeing her mother's cautious assent, Parker then perched herself on the arm of the chair opposite and said, "The last thing I want to do is argue with you. I value your opinion more than anyone in this life. I'm going to explain what I have in mind. Please listen to me, I don't care if you disapprove of him—trust _me_." Parker then began with excruciating patience to explainwhat she expected fromJarod, what she was willing to concede and where she needed her mother's tolerance, neatly leaving out the why or the cause of so much devotion.

**Abernathy Cabin  
Lake Catherine, VT**

The morning barely had a chance to start before the Abernathy family was up, packed and ready to leave. Jarod parted tearfully with his mother and sister. The former had plenty of advise to give her eldest son and made him promise several times to call them several times a week. Kyle grinned rakishly at his brother and shared some heartfelt expressions of his outright envy. He wouldn't have minded a chance to bum around Europe, a free man, on the arm of a delicious babe like Mari. Before coming to the sticks on what had to be the most boring vacation in family history, Kyle thought Jarod was slowly losing his mind. But after watching the deft skill with which his elder brother extracted money from their parents for the trip, Jarod fully redeemed himself in Kyle's estimation. With all the adeptness of a pickpocket, Kyle slipped the cassette tape of the Beach Boy's benchmark song, '_Wouldn't it be nice_' that he had been using to drive Jarod nuts. It was his last dig and nudge to urge Jarod to get off his duff and discover with Mari what fun there was in physical relationships. Judging from Jarod's previous encounters with women, Kyle wouldn't be surprised if Jarod were still a virgin.

His father was a mixture of both sides. He would miss his eldest son terribly, but was proud of Jarod's maturity and secretly envious of his ability to just pick up and leave. The major loved his wife and family to distraction but the thrill of having only yourself to be responsible for while seeing the world had its own draw. And with a passionate young woman like Mari as a girlfriend, the major had to shake his head in admiration.

To insure that his family remained undetected and unremarkable on the Centre's radar, Jarod used everything he had learned about their search techniques and tactics to both divert attention away and hide his family's whereabouts. Unfortunately for Parker, the most he could hope for was that the message they had sent the Chairman would buy them enough time to create a better cover for her family. The embarrassment of having 2 sweepers being overcome by a teenaged girl might rattle them a bit but would also whet Mr. Parker's appetite for the promise of so much talent.

**Lakeside Bed & Breakfast Inn**  
**Lake Catherine, VT **

It was around 5:30 in the morning when he arrived at the Inn, duffle bags in hand. He had asked Kyle to take his makeshift transponder back home with him. Jarod kept the radio and hoisted the contraption more comfortably on his shoulder. With the frog, there wouldn't be any need for a special transponder. The radio could be calibrated to the frog's signal and if worse, came to worse, he could still have Kyle ship the transponder to him. Much to his surprise, Catherine Parker was settled comfortably on the same porch swing he had planned on using to wait for Parker.

"Good morning, Jarod," she said softly.

"Good morning, Mrs. Ferrer," he responded with guarded friendliness.

"Please call me Catherine. I had a feeling you might arrive earlier than you planned."

"Yes, ma'am. My family is already on the road back home. I thought I would get here early and watch the sunrise."

A small huff of a laugh bubbled from deep within. "You are determinedly formal, aren't you? Well, I'm out here because I wanted to have a word with you alone. Join me, please and despite what my daughter may have said about me, I don't bite."

Jarod returned her smile, and relieving himself of his bags, sat next to Catherine Parker. It felt strange doing so. From her journals, he had read some of her most private thoughts that she committed to paper. In doing so, he had obtained a sense of the woman that strongly came through in her writings. Somehow he felt terribly guilty, as though he had violated her privacy. He had to keep reminding himself that this was a different time and this was a different woman than the one he had read about.

"How old are you?"

"I'm 20," he said taking a deep breath.

"So young. I'm sure leaving you behind in the hands of strangers was the last thing your parents had in mind for you. It must've been very difficult for them."

"My parents support my decision. It took them awhile but they understand why I felt it was necessary."

Another soft laugh was his answer. "I'm sure they do support you, though I doubt they understand. I say that because I'm not too sure I understand it—though Mari went through some pains explaining it to me like I was an imbecile," she remarked with wry amusement. She allowed a brief pause before continuing, giving Jarod a chance to slide in any clever arguments to augment his girlfriend's. With very little surprise, she noticed Jarod remained wary and silent, waiting to hear all she had to say before jumping to an erroneous conclusion. His maturity was on a similar level to her daughter's. So much so, that it felt like she was talking to an equal instead of horny kid still wet behind the ears.

"Hear me out, then. Something is going on between you and my daughter that I don't fully understand. On Maritza's side, whatever it is, has been having quite an effect on her and right now I'm torn between thinking it's a good thing or a bad thing. The little girl I raised would never have tried to kill a man for _threatening_ to kill me. She would've been in a state of disbelief, as I was, but to act as she did yesterday, well that was a surprise—something I'm not used to from her. If she had run away to be with that lying rat of an ex-husband who calls her his daughter, well that would've been much less of a shock. Now, I strongly suspect that you're aware of or are somehow involved in these changes," she stated quietly, keeping her eyeson the orange ball of a sun as it rose slowly with deliberate majesty into the dawn sky. "It's doubtful it has anything to do with sex, though from what she didn't say last night, I'm sure you two have been physically intimate. I'm not a prude, Jarod but I'm very protective of that beautiful, headstrong girl in there. What all this boils down to is this: don't hurt her. She thinks you're in love with her and is too blind to believe that you might not be the only one with those feelings. When we get home, there are a number of things that Mari has to face. Things she seems determined to pretend don't exist. If you care about her to the extent that I believe you do, then give her some space."

"You're right. I do love your daughter and I'll wait for as long as it takes for her to face her feelings."

"Are you sure about this? She's seventeen and fickle. A lot can happen between now and whenever Mari decides to look at herself in the mirror."

"I want to make sure I'm still fresh in her mind when she does look in that mirror," Jarod replied sincerely. Then allowing a pause of his own, he continued, "There isn't any way I would intentionally hurt Mari and I do intend on being around for quite some time."

"Interesting. We'll see how well your resolve will pan out. Just a word of warning—hurt her and you'll have me to answer to," Catherine said solemnly as she rose from the seat and took her leave.

Jarod leaned back against the seat rest and listened to Catherine Parker's retreating footsteps. It was refreshing to hear the fiercely protective note in Catherine's voice—very similar to a lioness defending her cub. With sad recollection, he remembered the possessive note in her 'father's' voice after Jarod kidnapped him in exchange for his own parent. His possessiveness was on the level of a man who loved his prized car. This time frame had much to offer both of them. Whenever he wasn't occupied with Parker, Jarod spent most of his time with his mother. She surprised him not with her precise insights or unfailing common sense but with her own brand of possessiveness. In a way it was thoroughly comforting. He knew, for example, that she would always consider him as her child. A small thing really, but for a man who never had anyone regard him in this way, his mother, with one of the gentlest smiles and a softlycaressing hand, soothedhis ever-present yearning of finding a place where he truly belonged. Jarod smiled slowly at his thoughts as the sun inched a bit farther up in the sky.

Speaking of possessiveness, it was strange how his ex-huntress had also established the same feelings in him. This journey they had beenforced to embark on was strange to say the least. They both now had what they always equally craved—families. People who loved them and whom they could love without reserve. Taking a deep breath, Jarod wondered if he were pushing his luck in reaching for yet another love. Parker was still sketchy about accepting this variant timeline. Slowly releasing his breath he pondered whether it was worth risking everything in pursuing a relationship with her. She was his sole connection to his previous life and though ordinarily, given the facts of his well-documented misery, she kept the worm of disappointed, discontent fully at bay, almost erasing its existence from his mind. He stretched out more comfortably on the swing. His answer was the patience he felt in waiting for her to show.

**Montpellier Regional Hospital**  
**Montpellier, VT**

They were hitting. Now the hitting and pounding had stopped but the pain remained. In this case, he truly understood the abuse a golf ball took. Every inch of real estate on his body was covered up in bandages, while three of his major limbs were bound up in splints and retaining pins. He was a mess and felt every inch of it. However, it would be quite a bit later until he could understand what had occurred to him. A visiting Muay Thai master had been giving a kick boxing demonstration in which the heavy bag Damon had been placed in figured prominently. Also, unfortunately for Damon, it was the Chairman himself who told him in no uncertain terms what kind of an idiot he thought his sweeper was and that he would arrange to have the hapless lackey released into the care of the Centre's Renewal Wing. It was this latest bit of information that caused a slim, cold finger of fear to trace its chilling path down from his heart causing him to relinquish what little control he still retained of his bowels. The Chairman continued on with his diatribe until the unpleasant result of Damon's fear assaulted his nose. Wrinkling his face in sudden disgust, Mr. Parker leaned in close, with Jarod's explanatory note still rumpled in his fist, he whispered directly in his frightened sweeper's ear.

"I never authorized a sanction on my ex-wife. Now that bitch will take my child and make sure I never see her again. I doubt my Angel will ever call me again because of your bungling. There will be hell to pay, and you're going to be the first in line with his checkbook out." With that the infuriated Chairman left the private hospital room.

Had Damon been able to speak through his wired jaw, he would've inquired about Mr. Cox and what if anything had happened to him. But then again, maybe it was a good thing that Damon's mouth was wired shut.


	20. Two sides of the same story

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for details.  
**Author's note: **My apologies for the lengthy wait for this chapter.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 20  
****By Callisto  
**

**Burlington Airport  
****Burlington, VT**

Ben had turned over the Inn to an old retired buddy of his, an ex-FBI agent who occasionally visited and helped out around the property. Now the Inn was under his care and Ben had left a long list of instructions including that no one was to know how to contact him. Before he could continue, the ex-agent told Ben to surprise him with his communication. What he didn't know, he couldn't leak, tell or slip up. Ben shook hands with his old friend and walked down the road and around the bend where he climbed into an old pickup truck containing his family plus Jarod and drove to the airport. Now they were in the air and on their way to London where they would change jets for the long journey to Lisbon.

The private airstrip was small and felt strangely exposed. Parker leaned against a tall table and stared at the empty tarmac, deeply engrossed in her own thoughts. Earlier that morning, she found Jarod staring at the sunrise in that singular way he had about him. While she sat snuggled with his arm around her, he remarked quietly, "Ever since we were kids, I've wanted to share a sunrise with you. The mad journey we were placed on with you chasing and me running, kept us apart. If I didn't know better, I would say that it was all done on purpose. What the reasoning behind it was about, I still haven't figured out. But I would've never thought that we would have to wait till we were middle-aged and in a variant time line to achieve this."

"God, that's some heavy thinking this early in the morning. Here, have a sip and shake off the gravity. I think I've had a belly full of heavy thoughts since my mother got a hold of me last night. I love her beyond all imagination but being a teenager around her is far more challenging than I could've ever imagined. If I analyze another motive or agenda, I think I'll scream bloody murder," she replied lightly. After a short pause, she continued, "There is something we should discuss. I told my mother that we would limit our, umm 'contact' while you stayed at the villa."

"Limit our contact?" he repeated curiously. He didn't like the sound of that.

"We'll need to exercise some self-restraint while we're in Portugal. Besides, I don't think I could have sex in my mother's house, with her so near. Just doesn't seem right."

Jarod looked at her, and then slowly began to smile at her discomfiture. "Don't worry. If it's too much trouble, then I'll find somewhere else to stay while you're at home."

"She won't hear of it. You're Major Abernathy's son and she's supposed to look after you. This next month is going to be a long one," she replied with a slow sigh. Getting used to having something or someone like Jarod was tough when its continuation was rooted in temptation and anticipation.

Jarod's answer was a small flattered smile as he pulled her closer and began to figure a way around their present obstacles. They sipped Parker's excellent coffee in companionable silence. Now several hours later, Parker was entertaining those same heavy thoughts she vowed to give herself a vacation from. A sharp, high-pitched laugh followed by a deeper one, caused her to tear her focus from the tarmac to the large waiting room area. Jarod had lifted Ethan onto his shoulders and was twirling the 6 year old around as the boy leaned backwards enjoying his dizziness.

It was while watching them that Parker's epiphany rushed in hard on her. She was smiling at her man with barely credulous wonder, when she realized how much she loved him. Most of her life and throughout all her adult years, she had convinced herself that her father's strictures about pretenders were true. In another example of the depth of his lies, consistent close contact and interaction proved all his claims false. Added to this, she realized with a bit of a shock, the depth of her own feelings. All this time spent with him in this fairy tale of a variant time scheme, talking with him, getting to know him, and sleeping with him, she realized somewhere down the line she had fallen hard for him. She found despite her ever-present emotional baggage, that she was more committed than she had ever been to anyone else. All of her 40 years of living confirmed these facts as her complexion flushed brilliant red and covering the lower half of her face with a hand she turned away from the others and back to face the vacant tarmac.

Jarod missed the outward signs of Parker's personal revelation, but her mother did not. It was the deep flush that caused Catherine to stare. Once Mari's eyes widened in disbelieving shock and she turned to hide her expression from Jarod, Catherine knew what happened. Mari found that all her lip service, and bull turned out to be true. What disturbed Catherine was the level and sense of maturity that radiated off her seventeen year old daughter. A type of maturity that heretofore, Catherine was convinced could only come from years of living and experience. Also were the confused messages that she kept getting from the voices.

Walking up to her daughter, Catherine said quietly, "Confusing as hell, isn't it?"

Only her eyes moved, as Mari looked over at her mother sideways, her hand still over her mouth. "What?" she murmured from behind her own hand.

"Oh, when you realize how much you care for someone. From the astonished look on your face, it seemed like you just realized that's how you felt about him."

"How did you know?" Parker asked without thinking.

"I'm an old lady in my late 40's, that's how." Catherine replied lightly.

"And that's how it was for you with Ben?"

"Pretty much but it wasn't so earth shattering probably because I wasn't trying to hide from my own feelings like you seem so fond of doing."

A small huff of amusement came from Parker, followed by a few others that turned in to a disbelieving laugh. "I never knew I _could_ feel this way about anyone. Once I thought I had gone farther than I ever had or could—until now. I'm probably going to wind up marrying him. Who would've thought," she continued mainly to herself.

A soft voice in Catherine's mind, confirmed Parker's statement as true. Catherine released a pent-up sigh and nodded, looking sympathetically at her daughter. "He seems to be a very nice young man."

"Thank you, Mama. It means a lot to me that you're trying to like him," Parker replied.

"He's a very gifted and special person," she confirmed softly. Then she decided that now was a good time for Mari to talk about the near future. "What are you going to do once we get home? I doubt Anton will enjoy seeing you with another boy."

"Anton?" she asked in total confusion.

Seeing her genuine look of bewilderment, Catherine heaved a sigh and replied patiently, "Anton. The scruffy boy you insisted on being allowed to see. He's no doubt waiting for you to return."

"Oh, _Anton_," she replied in a sudden rush. The first boy she slept with in her original time line. "I completely forgot about him." Then shrugging indifferently she said, "If I gave you a hard time about seeing him, I would like to apologize. Anton's nothing more than a little cretin who's sole purpose in life is to see how many women he can get into bed. I'm dumping him immediately and it has nothing to do with fickleness."

Catherine and Parker stared at each other for several seconds. Each woman trying to figure out what the other was thinking. It was during this moment that Parker knew she never really had a choice of returning to her dry, lonely life. While her mother was here, alive and vibrant, Parker knew she could never give up on the chance of having the family she always craved.

Catherine looked into her daughter's eyes and saw a soul leeching loneliness that had never been there before. Hope, love and disappointment among a host of other emotions swam in those piercing gray eyes. Without any deliberation, Catherine swept her daughter in a tight, protective hug and held on to her desperate to know what had caused these drastic changes.

**Leeds Airport – Private Terminus  
Leeds, England**

They boarded the Learjet quietly, almost anonymously. No one saw them and if they had, they didn't pay any attention to the jet's arrival or departure. All was quiet as the second day of their journey began. Ben was playing a game of Parcheesi with Ethan while Jarod watched. Parker leaned towards him and whispered in his ear that she would explain the rules if he wanted. It was something she had wanted to do for him when they were children.

Offhandedly, Jarod smiled and distractedly replied, "My Dad showed me how to play when I was seven. Ever since, I've been able to beat him at will. It's the only game he refuses to play with me." This answer caused her to frown thoughtfully. Jarod had been locked up in a tiny room in the Centre since he was four. She ought to know. She became friends with him when he was barely a teenager. Parker was taken aback and looked at him strangely. She was about to confront Jarod when her mother offered to get her something to drink.

"I would kill for a bottled water right now," she said quietly.

"I'm not sure if they have any carbonated water on board but would some juice do?"

"Thanks, Mom," Parker accepted gratefully and sat down on the sideways facing seats in the forward section of the jet. Catherine joined her as she sipped at her own iced down apple juice.

Switching to Portuguese, Parker said quietly, "Mama, I don't know if I've ever told you but sometimes I hear voices. I know that sounds crazy but it's not like schizophrenia, at least I hope it isn't. The voices I hear, tell me things. Sometimes they're strange but just about all the time they're true. They've also told me that you hear the same thing," Parker added slyly.

Catherine stared at her daughter, then coming to a decision answered, "Yes. I hear them too. I always suspected that you would be touched by our gift. Though what they've been saying lately, hasn't been making much sense."

"I have a question to ask and it isn't an easy one to ask," Parker began, shooting her mother a questioning look. This was the first time she felt she had a chance to broach the subject. At Catherine's resigned nod, Parker plunged on intrepidly. "It's about Ethan," she began in a lowered voice, still speaking in Portuguese. It was a language Ben had yet to learn.

"When he and I visited Jarod's family and had dinner there, I noticed something. Then the second time, I ran into them we both spent the day with them, I noticed it again." After a nervous pause and staring into Catherine's wary, almost frightened eyes, Parker continued, "He looks like Jarod's father and sister. It's weird. But you know how I feel about Jarod and I wanted to ask you, are we related to the Abernathy's?" Parker asked unable to go further with any reference to a possible liaison with the major. In her timeline, it had occurred through artificial insemination. She wanted to know how Ethan occurred in this variant. He looked too much the same here as he did in her reality which could only mean one thing.

Glancing over at her mother, Parker was surprised to find the older woman staring deep into her half consumed cup of juice. Without looking up, Catherine said quietly. "I'm going to tell you something. Something I haven't told your father but I'm sure he already suspects. I'm trusting you here, baby. Please keep this to yourself. I'll tell your father whenever I'm able to summon the courage."

"He isn't Ethan's father, is he?" Parker whispered softly.

"No. Major Abernathy is his father. It was an accident. Neither of us meant for anything to happen. How it did is still mind boggling to me. The man hates me and if _he_ knew, he would hate me all the more."

"How can he not know? You never told him?"

"Of course not! I've exercised some questionable judgment in my checkered past but I'm not a complete dunce," Catherine replied wondering at Maritza's calm demeanor.

Parker took several breaths, then looking over at her mother, silently asked for details she couldn't verbalize. Catherine gave her overly mature 17year old a half smile then nodded.

"I see you want the details. How could a man I can barely stand and who clearly could live a rich and full life without ever seeing me again, ever produce a child between us? Well, it started years ago, when Jarod was about 3 or 4 years old. My marriage to your Uncle was well on its way to becoming the crumbled wreckage you're familiar with. Back then, there was something called the Pretender project. It was tied up with a place called NuGenesis where infertile couples were given a chance to bear their own children by any means necessary—artificial insemination, surrogacy, what have you. Well, when the women gave up a portion of their reproductive eggs and the men their sperm, the Centre who held NuGenesis' purse strings, would sometimes mix and match to get the combination they wanted. Your uncle and a demented fellow named Dr. Raines dreamed up the project. They weretrying to producea genius they could control and use. Well to make a long story short, I heard from Dr. Raines' wife that Jarod had shown the most promise and his kidnapping had been scheduled. From there Jarod was to be isolated and tested to see if he had a certain gene and if they could make profitable use of his gift. I tried eliciting help from a man I thought was sympathetic and a friend—a Mr. Fenigor but I soon found out from another source thathecame up withthe protocols for the project and wasn't to be trusted." Catherine paused as she thought about the risks Jacob had taken to inform her of Fenigor's true alliances. "My only recourse was to appeal to someone outside of the organization which left me practically no one whom I could trust. In desperation, I tried warning his parents—specifically his father. Told him to take his child and disappear. At first, I didn't think he believed me but the next day his entire family went missing. No one could find them. Then several years later and after the fiasco with Leith Parker when I lost your brother, I was, to put it simply and bluntly, depressed. It was during this difficult time that I received another call from Edna Raines. Do you remember the summer I sent you to spend with Dona Abrizzo in Tuscany?"

Surprisingly, the memory sprang readily to her mind. She shouldn't have remembered anything of the sort but the smell of olives, fresh earth and the warmth of the sun during a carefree summer was right there in her mind. Pushing aside the memory, she nodded her yes.

"It was during that summer, Edna informed me that my ex and his sidekick were at it again. This time they succeeded in kidnapping a small boy named Timmy. He had all the gifts that Jarod possessed. I told Edna not to worry that I would do whatever I could to stop them. To let them continue would mean more kidnappings and heaven knows what kind of medical experiments would result. She gave me the details and after a carefully laid out plan, I decided to watch them and find out their routines. It was childishly easy because they were so arrogant and sure of themselves. One thing I knew for certain was that I couldn't accomplish this on my own. For that I needed someone who wouldn't need a lot of convincing, was smart and able to handle himself. To involve any of my prior Centre contacts would risk their lives and the lives of their loved ones. Jarod's father sprang to mind. But I had no idea where he was hiding. That was the first time I used our gift. After some trial and error, I was able to locate him and made contact. He didn't want to help me at first. It took some arm-twisting to get him to come along—that and a promise that he would never see me again if he helped. He was so resentful, I almost told him to forget about it.

"We went over my plan carefully. He made a few adjustments proving to me that I had made the right choice in ally. Everything went off without a hitch until he took Timmy from me for a moment while I keyed in the combination to get out of a main Centre corridor and into one of the junctures that lead outside. The inside of that place is laid out like a labyrinth. For some strange reason, Timmy took an instant dislike to Trevor. Bizarre really. Timmy began to scream and of course that brought at least half a dozen sweepers on us immediately. We barely got out of there with our lives. I got a nasty flesh wound for my trouble and Trevor was more pissed off than I've ever seen anyone. We switched motels and names several times before getting to the rendezvous point. I finally was able to hand Timmy over to his crying mother along with some fresh ID's and money. They disappeared with the same efficiency that Trevor and his family had. After everything was finished, we had to switch motels again to throw the Centre off our trail, just in case. One long day, we were stuck in the motel together for the whole day and Trevor wouldn't talk to me, would barely look at me. Because we were still trying to stay under the radar, he couldn't contact his family. I hadn't seen you for several weeks and your father in a month of Sunday's. This is beginning to sound like a litany of excuses," Catherine said as she shook her head sadly.

"It was late afternoon when everything decided to pile in on me at once. I found myself shaking uncontrollably and choking on my own tears. After all I'd been through, I had never been shot at and hunted. Your father always made them back off before things got bad. I realized how much influence he truly had. Trevor saw the condition I was in, came over to me and wrapped me up in his arms. Even then, I couldn't stop crying and shaking. He was trying to comfort me the best way he could. Somehow he started kissing me but I kept crying. He kissed me on the mouth and kept on doing that. One thing led to the usual other. Those are some details that I won't bother going into. The next morning when we were finally finished with each other, I happened to look at my hands, stared at my wedding ring and almost got sick. Trevor looked the same as I. Neither of us could look at the other without this overwhelming feeling of self-disgust because we thoroughly enjoyed it—guilt because of what we had done. We parted barely speaking to each other when he reminded me of my promise that we shouldn't see each other ever again. I readily agreed, what happened between us was a fluke—a one-time thing. On my way home, I visited your father trying to wipe out the memory of Trevor. I thought I succeeded until I discovered that I was pregnant. It was the voices who made sure I couldn't comfort myself with the delusion that Ethan was Ben's child."

"Oh, Mama. And I thought I was the only one in the family capable of making such colossal mistakes," Parker said with sympathetic understanding. With a wry smile she added, "I suppose seeing him again was like watching a horror movie monster that keeps rising from the dead no matter how many times you keep killing it."

"Oh God! Mistake doesn't give it justice. But no, baby. You got that part honestly. Do you hate me?"

"How could I ever hate you? You're the best thing that ever happened to me. To think I almost lost you, the only thing you could do to lose my esteem is to go back to that backstabbing, lying SOB of an ex-husband," Parker said with a slow smile. "No wonder your reaction to Jarod has been so negative."

"Partly. It seems Trevor and I are destined to continue to run into each other," she replied sadly. Catherine gave her a rueful smile and held her daughter tightly. She didn't want the old Maritza to ever come back. This version was everything she could ever hope to have in a daughter, friend and ally.


	21. Merging

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.

**Author's note: **There were 2 ways I could've gone with this story. On a lark, I took up a challenge presented to me by my beta reader. Surprising to me, the lark turned out far better than I imagined and has since taken on a life of its own. I hope all those who are reading this tale, truly enjoy it.

**Time to Consider  
****Chapter 21  
****By Callisto  
**

_**El Dorado Industrial Works  
**_**_Warehouse District  
__Buenos Aires, Argentina_**

Norwood had put this off for as long as he could. Hemmed and hawed to be exact. Now staring at Ethan who was looking at him like he had lost his mind, Norwood took a deep breath and bluntly told Ethan the whole truth.

"The fact is that I probably _shouldn't_ bring them back at all."

"Shouldn't? Why, what's going on?' Ethan asked with growing apprehension.

"The timeline. If I bring them back after the merge, it could have adverse effects on the timeline. Something I didn't factor in because I never intended, at this stage, to send a person through the portal."

"Wait, what does any of that have to do with your being able to bring them back?"

Heaving a deep sigh, Norwood glanced up and nodded quietly. "The thought of so many unknown factors makes me more nervous than I can tell you."

"Well get a grip on yourself. First we need to get this thing taken down, then reconstructed. Fortunately for both of us, I have access to a resident genius who could probably cut down the time we would take on our own to put your creation back together again." Ethan replied with unshakeable certainty, thinking of Daniel, Jarod's clone.

"He can't be of too much help being stuck in a time before the invention of the laptop computer. I can't see what he could do at this point," Norwood replied referring to Jarod.

Ethan, catching his reference gave Norwood a toothy grin, reminiscent of his sister's and said, "Oh, he'll be able to help us. I guarantee it."

Norwood was strangely unsettled by the predatory grin on his new friend's face but remained silent. Mentally crossing his fingers, he hoped that Ethan hadn't caught his previous reference. His hopes were dashed almost immediately.

Ethan had sprang up with a mysterious infusion of energy, removed several pre-loosened bolts and began carefully lifting a large metallic section away from its place and stacking it gingerly on top of his opposite twin. After several minutes of heavy dismantling, Ethan looked over at the scrawny scientist, who was huffing but otherwise keeping pace with his more fit companion and asked, "What is the 'merge'?"

Norwood almost dropped a valuable circuit board he had removed from the controller section of his machine in surprise. Uttering a string of deeply felt expletives just under his breath, Norwood carefully placed the board in a bubble-wrapped line box and covering it gently, closed the box while he gathered his thoughts.

"The merge is what happens when a sentient being travels through time within his or her own lifetime. It is theorized that a person can travel in time beyond his own lifetime-time frame but then that person would have to be carefully prepared. Not only mentally, to handle the differences in manners and speech but to avoid revealing any hazardous anachronisms."

"You've said a lot, without explaining a thing," Ethan replied rolling his eyes and shaking his head in wonder.

"Okay, let me try explaining it this way. I'm going to use the frog, my original specimen, as an example. My physics teacher, Professor Mielke hypothesized that where matter from two dissimilar realities can't occupy the same space at the same time, two personalities, being non-corporeal, possibly could. When I sent the frog back, I was able to send it to a time beyond its own existence, since it's non-sentient, that was why I had to inject it with a de-aging inhibitor. Your siblings went back to a time not only within their own existence but unprepared."

"So you're saying that they needed to have an age inhibitor prior to going thru the portal. They didn't so what does that mean?"

"I hadn't thought of it like that," Norwood said with creeping wonder. What if he had given them the age inhibitor? Then damage to the timeline would've been a certainty instead of an occasional fluke. Shaking himself to reality—no, that was Ethan shaking him by he shoulders. "Huh? Oh, sorry. I get ideas that float into my head and I have to think them through. If they had received the age inhibitor, then they would've wrecked havoc with the timeline. They might not have made it through to the other side of the event horizon if they had taken it. I'm sure they're already experiencing the effects—it's elegant really. Like nature, it's the way the timeline protects itself."

"Then the merge is when they went backwards in time, unprepared?"

"No. The merge, according to Mielke, probably began to take full effect after their first 72 hours on the other side of the event horizon. The people who originated in that variant time phase were merged or folded into the personalities that imposed themselves into that time," Norwood concluded. The confused and worried look on Ethan's face encouraged him to continue. "They went through my machine's event horizon, unprepared. Going back in time within their own life spans imposed changes of its own. Their bodies regressed to their youthful selves, while their personalities or minds remained the same."

"Why didn't they regress completely?"

"Because they will always remain who and what they are. Time can't regress or erase your spirit, what you've learned or what you've experienced—nothing can really. But by the same token, the versions of themselves they dropped in on, don't cease to exist either."

"Instead the two separate personalities merge into one," Ethan surmised. "Is there any way to bring them back and in doing so, separate the merged personalities?"

"That would be like trying to separate two different gaseous substances having only a fan for a tool. It's not going to happen and if by some means beyond anything I can think up would allow you to do so, then you would run the risk of killing one or both of the personalities. There's no telling if some type of permanent symbiosis was established in the merge."

"Alright, then when you're able to bring them back, will they return as adults since they are teenagers in the other time?"

_**Normandy Coast  
**__**En route to Portugal**_

Jarod was glad that he chose to have this conversation before the scientist got a chance to say anything. What he had deduced would have a dramatic effect on the rest of their lives.

"Have you noticed that we seem to know things that we otherwise shouldn't?" he asked her as they waited on a Normandy tarmac for the last leg of their journey to Lisbon.

"You mean like your father having taught you how to play Parcheesi during a time when you were locked safely away in the Centre and starting to make money for a greedy bastard I call a relative?"

"Did I say that?" he searched his memory and had no trouble in recalling their conversation on the plane. "Well, no more worse than you saying that your mother made dried cod edible _last year_. I think what we're experiencing is a type of combining."

"Combining? What is it that we're combining?"

Taking a deep breath he explained, "When I told you the people or personalities that were here before we dropped in from our reality simply disappeared, wasn't exactly accurate. Our altered memories are proof of that. What seems to have happened is that we're grafted on top of the personalities that were originally here. Those people aren't gone, they've become a part of us, including their memories."

"Does that mean we're going to forget everything we experienced and lived through and revert to the selves that were originally here?" she asked nervously.

"No. We'll remain as we are now. A middle-aged couple with a number of memories of events that we've never experienced. Though I suspect the longer we're like this the more integrated our younger counterparts will become with us but we'll never forget who we are. The comforting part is knowing that the version of ourselves that we're most familiar with will probably be the side of us that remains in control."

"Instead, we'll remember what else our other selves are. What if we returned? Would the effects reverse?"

"Once we integrated with the people who were here, then we'll stay this way permanently. That is unless we travel to yet another time and pick up another version of ourselves," he replied with a smile.

"Why would we stay in control? We're the alien elements in this time frame, I would suspect that the originals would eventually take over."

"We are more dominant because of our age, the depth of our experiences and the sheer amount of amassed information that we forcibly downloaded into these people. It's like searching for a needle after tossing a large haystack on top of it, then swirling things around."

"Well, I'm not complaining. It's a scary thought to have yourself disappear and still be conscious of it."

A deep sigh escaped him as he thought about her statement. "That's not exactly accurate either. They are and always were 'us' or different versions of us. What's happening is that our consciousnesses have folded into one another. Or rather we're finally seeing the results of the combining."

Parker huffed out a half-laugh and smile. "So we're now like sticky tape. Where ever we go, different versions of ourselves will adhere to our own core personalities."

Nodding slowly, Jarod agreed. "Yes, but that's only if we travel to another timeframe." After a short pause, he took a deep breath and asked a loaded question. "Do you still want to go back to your old life?"

Glancing into his concerned eyes, she replied, "A long time ago, I had to come to terms with my mother leaving me. First I thought it was through suicide. Then the truth came out and it turned out to be through the actions of a murder via her own faults and desperation. I can't explain how deeply that affected me and still does. Now I have a choice, a brighter and wiser mother than my original and I'll be damned before I leave her to return to a life that has little to offer me."

Jarod listened to what she had to say and the feeling behind her words. However, her gray gaze transfixed him as he stared with open hunger at the woman he always tried to ferret out from behind her elaborate screen of defense mechanisms. The root of her irresistible attractiveness lay in a perfect balance of the prettiness she possessed as a child and the beauty she was about to become. Youth clung stubbornly to her features in a way Jarod could never have imagined. Her face still had the features of his old childhood friend while her eyes remained wise and knowing beyond her appearance. Parker immediately caught the unguarded expression his youthful face revealed—something his original self would've kept carefully hidden and realized with a start that their merged personalities were having effects that neither could've ever anticipated. Her response was to hold his gaze for a few more seconds before gently withdrawing her own. She wanted him, as much as he wanted her but with her parents and Ethan nearby there were certain desires that had to remain just below the surface of steely control.

**_El Dorado Iron Works_  
_Warehouse District_  
_Buenos Aires, Argentina_**

"They will advance to the age they originally were in this timeframe. Think of time as an overly efficient, prickly machine imbued with an artificial intelligence that goes beyond our understanding and appreciation. It knows how to compensate and adjust when the unexpected happens. It's us who would be surprised by how time goes about its business."

"How badly will this affect your ability to bring them back to this timeframe?"

"Bringing them back isn't the problem, the timeline might be. All I can do is warn you that whatever way time decides to compensate for any changes bringing them back might cause, is something you and ultimately they will have to learn to live with. Where the true challenge on my side lies is in figuring out how it happened in the first place and reversing the flow of the event horizon back into this time. Then we would also have to worry about expanding the containment field so my machine doesn't experience another crippling meltdown. On top of that, have you considered that they might not _want_ to come back at all?"

"I know this is going to sound extremely selfish and to be frank, it is, but I would rather not give them much of a choice. There are too many people on this side of the timeline who needs them. To leave them where they are would create a hole in our lives that nothing would ever fill. I'm not speaking of myself, well, maybe where my sister is concerned but the rest of Jarod's family would be equally devastated to lose him."

Norwood nodded thoughtfully. "Getting them back would help me tremendously. I could always study them. Find out what the short and long term affects of time travel are on the human body and psyche," he replied slowly, as the tacit deal he was striking with Ethan presented fresh ideas on how to take advantage of having the stowaways return. Then a completely venal expression came over Norwood's face giving Ethan the opportunity of understanding the type of hubris it took to create the kind of machine that was Norwood's. "As long as they are in the vicinity of the frog, there's a chance, a slim one mind you, but a chance that I can snatch them back without any warning. Timing is everything and the machine would have to be primed and ready to open the portal when they are in position. Your job would be to make sure they are with the frog together, at the same time."


	22. Adjustments

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual stuff about me not making any money off this.  
**Author's note: **For all those reading this story, thanks for your patience.

_**Time to Consider  
Chapter 22  
By Callisto**_

_**J**_arod stood somewhat nervously off stage, waiting. Scattered around him were some of the people involved in the competition. He knew none of them personally but had exchanged a few friendly words with the various relatives and friends of the contestants as they became more familiar with each other over the course of the past couple weeks. He was completely oblivious to the admiring sideways glances that took in his slim but obviously fit physique. At his girlfriend's insistence, he kept his hair very short and in direct contrast to the current styles for men. His features were chiseled but it was obvious that time would further enhance and bring character to them. As in his time, his eyes were arresting, though given his physical youth, held within them a sadness of terrible experiences along with a wily intelligence that seemed unquenchable.

The field had been thinned out considerably, leaving today as the final day where the top 5 contenders displayed their talents before an enthusiastic audience and a panel of tough judges. From what he had seen and heard, the competition was stiff but so far Parker continued to surprise and amaze him by staying in the thick of it. He shook his head in wonder over the power of the merge. The teenaged Mari was amazing in her abilities, though Jarod was certain that the older Parker's own aptitude and drive managed to push the teenager over the top in her talents. One thing he had learned in his association with Parker was her tenacity and persistence, which usually yielded her desired results—except, of course, when matched against his wits.

Taking a deep breath, Jarod walked around a bit and wondered at his own discomfiture. She was the one competing, the last one on stage before the judging began, but he felt as though he had a stake in her success. Oddly, here they were seven months after they fled from Vermont and the Centre's clutches and he found that they hadn't spent as much time together as he had hoped. The first week in Portugal had gone fairly well. There had been a few times when he had the opportunity of sneaking a few stolen, intimate moments with her. After that, things spiraled down a road he never knew existed. Parker met with her piano teacher and played a complicated piece for her for over an hour. The skeptical look on Parker's face betrayed her belief that she hadn't done well, though to Jarod's ears, it was excellent. Her technical skills might have needed a bit more refinement but the expression was the best he had ever heard. Apparently the piano teacher agreed and was so dumbfounded that she sat on a nearby settee for several minutes without saying a word. She then got up with energy and finding Catherine, spoke with her in private for over an hour. This was repeated with Parker included in the discussions. The result was that Parker would take a leave of absence from school and practice for the upcoming competition exclusively. The only catch was the music teacher lived in Lisbon itself while the Ferrer's actually lived some distance from the metropolis in a seaside hamlet. Parker agreed to this arrangement advising him that they could take an apartment in the major city to see if they could actually live together without killing each other.

At first, when they were blissfully alone in their own apartment, Jarod never knew he could've enjoyed Parker's company as thoroughly as he did or on so consistent a basis. The first on-going distraction was only minor, when he started helping a local drag racer boost the performance on, what to Jarod anyway, was a classic car. He enjoyed sports where speed was of the essence and since he was at least a couple decades away from test flying any F14, this humble machine would have to do. Then slowly, her studies began to envelop her time and require her absence just at the moment when his curiosity over the red-eyed tree frog that hitched his way to this time frame began to consume him. Parker had done an expert job in comfortably caging the frog in a terrarium with fresh water, convenient wooden perch, a daily misting, plenty of doomed crickets for food and a soft bed of Spanish moss. Going through all of Parker's books, Jarod soon expanded his search for knowledge to the library and began reading further about the amphibian. He became all the more curious about the compound used to arrest its aging through the time portal. As with most things that captured his imagination, Jarod became slightly obsessed. With the skill of a zoologist, he took the frog from its cushy habitat and extracted fluids from it to discover the nature of the compound the scientist used.

Here Jarod was in his most comfortable element, an intellectual puzzle that challenged him was balanced delicately between his own financial endeavors with the stock market, keeping his obligations to his drag racing friend by acting as a back-up driver and his deepening, mutually affectionate relationship with Parker. He worked at his leisure; free from the worry of anyone trying to get away with murder or that someone was in any danger. After a few months he thought he had duplicated what took the scientist over a year to formulate. It took another month to modify its basic chemical structure to make the compound compatible for humans.

One night after dinner, Jarod spent an hour explaining to Parker what he had accomplished in detail. Occasionally looking over at her to see if she were listening, he told her of the compound. At her continued silence, Jarod stared into her glassy eyes, reassured that he had lost her after the first few sentences.

"And then the frog jumped up on its hind legs and said 'Hey that hurts, what do you think I am, a pin cushion?'" Jarod said casually.

A long moment passed, while Parker continued to stare at the wall directly in front of her, as she lay stretched out on the couch. Jarod had her feet in his lap while he absently caressed her muscular legs. It was obvious from their muscle definition that keeping up with her dancing lessons was having positive effects. He had lost her completely but the view more than made up for her inattention. She was very lovely with each day revealing another part of her eventual metamorphosis into the beautiful woman he knew she would become.

"Amazing. I knew the frog was unusual but to actually talk? Now that's over the top. Do you think its trip through the time portal had something to do with its developing vocal cords?" she asked in deadpan.

Jarod chuckled in response as her gray gaze shifted over to his own. "I thought I had lost you after I started into the explanation of the molecular resequencing and chemically dynamic catalyst needed to achieve my little feat."

She smiled softly at him and replied, "You did. But not because you were boring me silly with your 250 IQ level explanations. The voices started speaking as well and it was easier for me to follow what they were saying than what you were going on about." She focused her attention completely on Jarod's youthful features and asked with mild curiosity, "Would you be able to, say, inoculate us with this compound you made up?"

"Why? It wouldn't help us stay the same age here. It only works when the body is subjected to the electromagnetic properties that exist in a time portal event horizon."

"The voices seem to believe that it would be wise to inoculate ourselves. Something about stabilizing our current phase make-up, since we went through the portal unprepared. Look, it doesn't make much sense to me either, but I've learned to listen like E.F. Hutton to anything they say."

"Like who?"

_******  
Kowaris Cannery – Present  
******__Anchorage, AK_

Norwood was amazed by the speed and efficiency it took to reassemble his machine. He was also taken aback by the kid who helped them. Never had he encountered someone smarter than him, not only smarter but younger as well. It took the kid less than a week to understand the technical concepts and only after a few hours spent examining the schematic diagrams drawn up by Ethan, was the teenager able to competently help them reassemble the machine. The modifications to the power input/output manifold were such that it allowed for a heftier and more robust containment field—one that could take the load of at least two if not more people.

Instead of feeling challenged, Norwood smiled enthusiastically. So much that Ethan began to wonder what else the barely ethical scientist had in mind for his machine. Ethan knew what he wanted and needed. The voices spoke to him, but he wasn't in the mood for their messages. He was determined to stick to his original deal with Norwood and felt confident that once his siblings were back where they belonged and given some time to readjust, they would be happy at the result.

The major looked in occasionally at the contraption his sons were helping the college kid build. After Norwood gave his explanation of what his machine had done to Jarod and his companion, all the major could do was stare in disbelief. He wanted Jarod back safe and sound but to believe that he was sent back through time to a different reality was something straight out of science fiction. He could easily see that his skepticism irritated Norwood who in turn nodded towards Daniel for confirmation. His younger 'son' calmly turned his gaze from Norwood to his father and gave a short nod. It wasn't only conceivable but possible as well.

Major Charles entered the empty, shuttered loading bay and slowly circled the machine. A variety of thoughts pinged around in his mind as he thought of the predicament that had his eldest son currently entrapped. His pointed questions were readily answered but he wasn't blind to Ethan's sudden muteness. Those voices he often spoke to were saying something else that he wasn't sharing. This also bothered the major. Made him worry about his son and opened his considerable imagination up to other possibilities no one bothered to mention. However, like Ethan, he kept his concerns to himself, except to express in an encrypted e-mail to Emily his reservations about their latest endeavors. Her advice, as usual, was pointed and logical. Following up on her instructions, the major approached Ethan and stood next to his son.

"Before we go any further with this, I want to ask you one question and I want you to answer me fully and honestly."

Ethan quietly awaited the question without answering, though he was sure what that question would be. The major looked at his son's calm face and plunged on.

"Is it safe to bring him back? Can this thing actually do what Norwood claims without harming Jarod?"

"Yes, it can and it will. I've spoken to both of them using the machine, so it was easier for me to believe Norwood's claims. We're close to being ready to contact them. Hopefully by the end of the week, they'll both be back with us."

"You sound certain."

"That's because I am. They both are very precious to me, not just Jarod. I wouldn't wish any harm to come to either. Emily knows how I feel about our brother and you know that my feelings are the same for my sister," Ethan replied, forcing calm into his voice. He knew his father would turn to Emily for advice on how to approach him. In a very short time, Ethan had made it his business to get to know and understand all his relatives. The voices were only a part of his talents.

"I can't help but worry and I can't shake the feeling that you're hiding something from us. Something the voices have already told you."

His marginally moral deal with Norwood was busily pushed away from the forefront of his mind. Turning to his father, Ethan looked him in the eye and replied, "We're going to get them both back, safe and sound. No harm will come to them—not if Daniel has anything to say about it. He's added a number of safety features that Norwood never considered being that his initial experiment was to only send through a frog. We've checked, double-checked and rechecked all the systems. Before we make a move, we're going to go over the whole thing again, just to make certain."

This speech seemed to mollify the major but there was still something niggling in the back of his mind. Something that Ethan had left out during his assurances. Nodding slowly, the major fixed his son with a piercing stare, then left the loading bay.

Norwood had listened to this exchange with interest. He needed to know that Ethan was still on board with their plans. What they were about to do didn't cause Norwood a moment's pause. He was determined to get the two back and all in one piece. They were his proof, a validation of his own personal genius that eclipsed even Daniel's brilliance. The fact that they might be reluctant to return didn't cause him to bat even one eye in hesitation.


	23. The Competition

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual stuff.

**Author's Note: **Again, I would like to convey my sincerest apologies for the long wait. Real life continues to demand copious amounts of my time and attention.

Thanks to everyone who have written and reviewed, your encouragement means a great deal.

To answer a few pointed questions:

Desy – No, Jarod doesn't yet know about Catherine's brief liaison with his father.

bloodymary2 – In the next chapters you will see more of mp / j as well as Catherine

Onisius – It seems that more folks are wanting them to remain in the past….

Allani – Regardless of what happens, they won't be too happy with Ethan. Hate him? Never!

Imag1ne – This chapter will point out further what Ethan is hiding.

Ron – The conclusion of the competition is in this chapter.

_**Time to Consider**_  
_**Chapter 23  
**__**By Callisto**_

_**Chavalier – Arnou International Competition  
**_**_Arras, France_**

The final competitor was in the middle of her performance. Words could not describe Jarod's jumble of thoughts and emotions. The other contestants were scattered around and about the auditorium, listening as their hopes for the Grand Prize diminished with each successive cord. Her performance was beyond anything he could've imagined. Never in his wildest dreams could he have conjured up something on this scale. On the piano he was extremely proficient; _she_ was absolutely brilliant. Nothing in her past even suggested this level of talent; the ability to express long buried sentiments or the creative skill to release her repressed or otherwise controlled emotions. She found a place in her concerto for a lot that had occurred in her life and in doing so, explained more than she had the words for on Carthis.

Jarod had long overcome his caution in expressing his emotions. Since his escape, he discovered that there were moments when an occasional tear was allowed, a shout of anger tolerated, a deadly glare necessary. What her performance dredged up from inside of him was almost too much at once. Her loneliness—their loneliness, sense of betrayal and repressed anger was perfect fodder for her piano piece. He stood mesmerized by the sound and lost all track of time until she skillfully built up to the crescendo and eased into the last bar.

The crowd shared Jarod's awe as they sat transfixed waiting for more. When it became apparent that she had finished, they erupted into a deafening wall of applause and shouts of praise. The orchestra came to their feet and joined in on the ovation. Parker looked up at the conductor and was surprised to see that he too was clapping. She gracefully stood, made her polite bow, stood a few seconds staring out at the crowd, bowed her thanks to them again and then turning bowed to the orchestra as well before taking her leave.

Jarod watched as she came towards him. With a slight smile, she approached him and was immediately engulfed in a powerful embrace. Pulling her abruptly to arms length he said over the slowly calming noise from the audience, "You've done something I never thought you would ever do again—you've surprised me, Miss Parker. I never knew you could play like that."

Smiling, Parker lightly kissed his mouth and replied, "So, it's 'Miss Parker' again? I worked very hard to get that piece right. That slave driver of a piano teacher—the one standing just behind you, made sure I perfected it."

"Maritza, you definitely saved the best for last. I must admit that I am pleased you didn't allow your doubts to cripple you," the teacher remarked with a heavy Russian accent.

"Taisia, if it weren't for your constant badgering and endless confidence in my ability, I wouldn't be here today," Parker replied sincerely. She allowed herself to be gently hugged by her jubilant masters-class teacher.

"Now we wait for the judges to make their decision," Taisia replied firmly. To her ears, Maritza out-played and out-finessed the competition at every turn but this confidence didn't allay her nervousness over the judge's impressions and expectations.

Thirty minutes later the awards were given out and to no one's surprise, Parker was awarded the grand prize, which she accepted with a grace beyond her appearance that further charmed the crowd and judges. The party afterwards was a raucous affair. Once her rounds of congratulations were exchanged with her fellow competitors, Parker, wanting some quality time, found Jarod and dragged him away for the long walk back to their hotel.

"Your performance was beyond anything I had ever heard before. I'm very proud of you."

"Now I know I must have really impressed you."

"Your performance suggested depths I never knew existed. It'll be a lot of fun exploring those depths at length."

"Really? Did I come off as being so shallow in our time frame?"

"From where I was standing, shallow isn't quite the right word. You were more of a corporate thug. All the best parts of you were repressed, carefully hidden from the world. Your father took advantage of your attempts to please him and conform to his wishes. He acted more like a corrupted Mafioso than some of the mobsters I know. Tonight I got the chance to get a glimpse of what your true self is capable of achieving."

"A _thug_? You thought I was on a par with mobsters?" she asked with incredulous heat.

"What else would you call a person who is mandated to hunt down another human being intending to 'retrieve' them against their will and by any means necessary?"

"I call it someone who was given an unpleasant assignment," she replied with faltering surety. She knew how ridiculous her argument sounded.

"An assignment? When you go after someone while armed with a 9mm? Someone who had done you no harm, who was being forced to spend the bulk of his life in confinement and being experimented on despite continuing to do as he was told? And then to have that gun turned on you and those closest to you if your conscious began to bother you—if you started to question your master's motives? I trust we don't have to go into what would result if you ultimately failed in that 'unpleasant assignment'? Look, I don't want to argue the point, I'm just glad we've both left that crazy 'I run, you chase' mentality behind us," he replied. He hadn't intended on picking a fight with her but he knew eventually they would have to discuss it.

"If this is how you felt, what made you want to be with me?" she asked with a sinking heart.

"My feelings for you haven't changed from this morning or last month. The Centre no longer dictates anything for me and although the things that were done to my family and me are still on going, I'll never forget who the true liars and culprits are. The past doesn't change anything for me here. What about for you?"

"I never thought I would win the competition. I knew I was good but not that good. Mama will be very pleased," she replied trying to turn the tide of the conversation.

"I'm sure she will be," he answered softly. Never one to let a question so important to him go unanswered, he asked, "Does knowing what my point of view is change your feelings towards me?"

Turning away from him to stare at the passing traffic, Parker abruptly stopped walking. She remained quiet and still for several moments. "I've never felt this way about anyone in my life, not even Tommy. I guess you're the only one who could ever reach my little hoodlum heart," she replied with light sarcasm.

Loudly and a touch dramatically to cover his true anxiety, Jarod exhaled as though he were holding his breath throughout her answer. "In that case, why don't we get a ride back to the hotel?" At her inquisitive expression, he flagged down a taxi and opened the rear door with a flourish, "There's a fantasy you inspired in me some years back while you were hunting for your past in Maine. It was the only time I can remember when you actually allowed yourself to put on a few pounds."

"I did not!"

"I'll be more than happy to show you exactly where those pounds used to be so deliciously located," he replied with a wolfish grin.

His efforts worked because despite her fighting it, a smile broke free and onto her face as she got into the cab. "This had better be good, Genius."

Before he followed her he murmured to himself, "After tonight's performance, it's nice to know for certain that I'm not the only one."

_**Kowaris Cannery Present  
**_**_Anchorage, AK_**

"We're all set. The last checks were encouraging. The containment field is larger by another 25 and power output is up another 38. Those processors you received from your sister's friend were more than enough to do the trick," Daniel reported with a satisfied nod.

"I'm glad Mr. Broots came through after all. He sounded so nervous when I called him, I thought he was going to have a heart attack," Ethan replied with mild irritation. Broots' preoccupied caution had the same effects on his temper as it did on his sister's.

Daniel looked at his half brother for a few seconds before continuing. "I know that I'm just a carbon copy but in some cases that gives me some insight into Jarod. An insight that only he and I can share. What I'm trying to say is what if he doesn't want to come back? What if he's happy with the years he inadvertently regained?"

"You're more than a 'carbon copy'. You are your own man, separate from Jarod. Someone once told me that it doesn't matter how you got here, the fact is that you're here now and no one can take that away from you—or your individuality," Ethan replied trying to avoid answering the same question that had been floating in his mind since they embarked on this project. His deal with Norwood had been bothering his conscious more than he wanted to admit to himself.

"Thanks. But you know you didn't answer my question. The voices must be telling you the same thing. He doesn't want to come back, does he? What about your sister?"

"They'll both be glad to be back where they belong. What happened to them was a bizarre accident. We need them to come back and they need to be here."

"Why? Without Jarod, we have a chance to move on. The Centre will never find them and will be forced to move on as well. I know you miss them—we all do, but maybe this accident was as coincidental as my being here today to point it out."

"It's what's best. With them back, there won't be any more damage to the timeline," Ethan countered. This was an argument that he often used on those pesky voices.

"Interesting. Have you at least discussed this with them?" Daniel pressed.

Becoming suddenly irritated by the boy's insistence, Ethan gave Daniel a piercingly angry glare and stalked away. He didn't need the chattering of his inner sense taking on the voice of Jarod's clone.

**_Inter Hotel le Moderne  
__Arras, France_**

They spent the rest of the night together with Jarod happily seducing and then methodically showing Parker his favorite parts of her body. Drinking champagne and making love was the hallmark of the evening. Fortunately, Jarod's unwavering attention also kept Parker from drinking too much as well. In the morning they woke hangover free, refreshed and horny. Before he would allow himself to be drawn in, Jarod had a few questions for his lady.

"I want to ask you about this prize you won last night. What exactly did the judge mean when he said you would spend the next 2 years _concertising_?"

"He meant that as the winner, I have engagements to perform at some of Europe's top concert halls. The prize is being introduced and having the opportunity of working with the most influential and talented conductors and orchestras in the world. Think of it as a long-winded meet and greet. At the end of it, if I'm good enough and lucky, I just might get a job offer."

"When will you return home? Between concert dates?" he asked wondering when he would have the chance of seeing her again.

"Most likely I won't for some time. But I do have about a month before I start on the tour, so most of our plans will still work. We can go back home to the apartment and not leave for at least an entire week, then I was hoping we could go and visit my family, and then your family before this whole thing starts up," she replied as she caressed his chest while staring at his face.

"I didn't realize this would be the result," he stated with a heavy heart. He wanted her to stay but didn't want his possessive side to fully come out and have the temper tantrum that was going on in his mind.

"What's the matter?" she asked suddenly. The closed expression on his face said he didn't like any of her plans.

"To be honest, I didn't expect you to win either. When we made some of our long-range plans before the competition, I was certain that you would be around to enjoy them with me. Now you'll be gone for at least 2 years," he replied quietly.

For a second her brow furrowed, then suddenly relaxing, she gave him a wolfish grin. "Oh, no, Sugar. _You're_ coming along with me for the next 2 years. I'm not letting you out of my sight for a second."

He turned and looked at her, trying desperately to control the relief and pleasure her declaration caused him. "Now you tell me? I was worried that I was on the brink of losing you."

"Well, this way you'll have plenty of time to design that engine your friend, Egan keeps raving about. Then again, you would know about this if you took your head out of that amphibians-for-super-genius' book for a minute and asked, then I would've told you in the beginning. By the way, do you have that formula finished yet?"

"Yep, it's all good to go, but I want to remind you, it won't work outside of the event horizon. Besides, I thought you hated being 18?"

"Nope, it's definitely not my favorite age. Too damn many limitations. But right now, right this very minute, it feels like I'm in the middle of a fantastic dream and I just don't want to wake up," she replied as her hands began to wander purposely along his body.

"I know what you mean, however, neither man nor woman lives by lovemaking alone," he said getting up in a hurry. "Why don't you sit back and relax, while I order us some breakfast," he said, as he pulled on the dress pants he had left hanging across the bedroom ottoman.

Several minutes later, the doorbell rang. Jarod had called down to room service again because they forgot to include milk in his order. 'They're faster than they look' he thought as he left the table laden with food to answer the door.

Instead of finding the bellboy, he opened the door to Catherine Ferrer. He was very shocked but quickly and smoothly recovered. "Mrs. Ferrer, um, Catherine, what a pleasant surprise, please come in." He opened the door wider for his guest, ever conscious that he had left his shirt in the bedroom and was wearing only last night's slacks.

"Thank you, Jarod. I came around to see if Mari was up yet. I wanted to congratulate her," Catherine said with a softly disapproving lift of her eyebrow.

"Yes, I was about to tell her that breakfast was ready," he replied noting Catherine's expression. The doorbell rang again, this time the bellhop was there with the carafe of milk.

Turning he led the way into the living room area, where he had set up the breakfast. "There's enough here to feed an army. Would you like something?"

Before she could reply, Catherine, who had continued walking over to the closed curtains to check out the view, turned in time to see her scantily clad daughter sneak up on Jarod. His back was to the bedroom where the girl had emerged as he poured milk into two glasses. He had just finished doing this when Mari did a very credible job of goosing him.

Jarod must have jumped a foot, spilling most of the milk and giving a startled yell. His reaction was amusing even to Catherine who was doing all she could not to laugh out loud. He was still trying to catch his breath when Mari in a low, very adult and enticing voice, sexily murmured her most insincere apologies. Before Jarod could say a word, the girl pounced, kissing him and running her fingers along the muscular planes of his chest and back. Her left hand plunged into the back of his pants, as he struggled to free himself from his teenaged vixen.

He was thoroughly aroused when he managed to pull away and choke out that her mother was there to visit. This information failed to immediately register as Mari continued her ministrations. When it did, her eyes widened and she looked around him, finally spotting her mother standing in front of the curtained sliding glass windows. Catherine had been unable to hide her smile at the preciously dumbfounded look on her daughter's guilty face. She continued smiling and waved as the girl pulled Jarod's shirt closed around her naked body and ran with impressive speed back into the bedroom.


	24. Coming Home

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements  
**Author's note: **Special thanks to all for your patience.

_**Time to Consider**_  
_**Chapter 24**_

_**By Callisto  
**_

_**Ferrer Villa – Past  
**__**Mar Azul, Portugal**_

The following week they returned to the villa after indulging shamelessly in their mutual lust. Catherine greeted her daughter happily; glad to have her friend and ally back where she felt the girl belonged. She harbored a number of reservations over Mari's relationship with Jarod, mainly because of her youth. To all extents and purposes, Jarod was her first love and that was too few for her daughter to base the direction of her life. However, she couldn't help but breathe a private sigh of relief because, at least on the surface, he was Major Abernathy's son. She didn't like the father at all but she did respect him. Without going through the pains of analyzing her own feelings, Catherine knew that any dislike of Jarod was rooted in her aversion for his father. This aversion stemmed mostly from a deep-seated worry which caused her to live with the constant fear that if Ben should ever find out about what had happened between them, and the result was Ethan, Catherine might loose the one man to whom she was fiercely devoted. For Mari's sake, Catherine sincerely hoped that her daughter had chosen well with Jarod. This paradox posed a dilemma for her but the end result was the same—her dislike for Jarod was slowly giving way. He was diligently polite, disarmingly charming and amazingly intelligent and underneath it all, when he tended to relax around her, he began treating her like she was a second mother. Shaking her head in defeat, Catherine breathed another deep sigh and decided to take on a more 'wait and see' approach. Jarod was quickly becoming one of the family and the chanting voices in her mind continued to allay her fears by repeating that he was destined to become a permanent member of the family. Now if she could only understand what they meant about her daughter's merge recreating Mari but a possible threat to her happiness wouldcome in the form of her little brother in the future, Catherine would've been able to set her mind somewhat at ease.

Parker was glad to be back. Once she was able to get past the mortification of having her mother catch her seducing Jarod, Parker enjoyed every moment with Catherine. In very short time, Parker figured out a way of drawing her mother away from her time consuming career to spend some much needed, leisurely hours with her. Soon after their return, it was during a particular lunch Parker was enjoying with her mother when the subject of her relationship with Jarod was brought up between them again—the first time since their argument in Vermont.

"Speaking of Jarod, I think we should clear the air between us after that, umm, display, I witnessed after the competition," Catherine began cautiously. Typically, in the affection department, the couple was playful but strictly platonic whenever they were around any of the family. That day had been the first time she'd ever witnessed her daughter's ardor for the boy. The whole scene was still amusing but in retrospect it raised a number of questions in her mind. Noticing the rising color of embarrassment charmingly reddening her horny child's face brought an indulgent smile out of Catherine.

"What did you want to ask?" inquired Parker chokingly, trying to clear the lump thatformed in her throat. Never could she have imagined anything like the horror she felt at her mother catching her so intimately with Jarod.

"You seemed very, affectionate. No, that's not the word I'm looking for. You were very assured. Oh hell, I'll just speak plainly. You were all over that boy, which is all right. Like I've said before, I'm no prude. I would rather you be honest in your relationships. It's just when I first saw the two of you together, I was under the impression that _he_ was the one initiating the physical side of your relationship but that doesn't necessarily seem to be the case. Were you the one who seduced _him_?"

Parker closed her eyes and sat fully back in her seat. It was official—she was in teenage hell. Actually, she had plenty of time to reflect on this and after Jarod's input; she knew where her mother was going with this. Former gigolo Jarod pointed out candidly "it suggests a certain level of intimacy between us she wasn't expecting to see, after all how often did you duck your boyfriends when you were 18?"

"Jarod, the slang is goose, not duck," she replied casually. Then turning to see that his back was to her, she treated him to another example of the slang, which caused him to jump and yelp out loud, much to Parker's delight. It was about time she got to play a few tricks on him.

"It was mutual, Momma," Parker finally replied. "What's going on between Jarod and me isn't going to go away. Believe me, I'm not trying to make your life miserable. I honestly want him in my life. It's gotten so that nothing seems to mean much of anything without him. That's why I've insisted that he come with me on tour. Fortunately, he'll have plenty to do while I'm practicing and performing. It won't be all one-sided as it seems. So you can rest assured that what I'm feeling for him is more than a schoolgirl's crush."

"I just want you to remember one thing. Regardless of how this turns out, I'll always be here for you, baby."

Despite a few seriously uncomfortable moments, those were some of the happiest hours Parker had ever enjoyed with her beloved parent, to the point where she could objectively understand her own prior sanctified view of her mother.

Ethan was ecstatic to have his sister and her boyfriend home. Jarod had quickly become a friend who didn't mind having him around. Before their vacation in Vermont, Mari was one of those who seemed to hate having him within speaking distance though he couldn't help it. He liked his sister and despite her growing impatience with him, he had gotten into the habit of following her around since she usually did interesting things that somehow got her into hot water with their mother. Now, she would seek him out, pick him up from school and spend quality time with him just hanging around and talking. He too was having the time of his life.

Jarod was also glad to return to Parker's family home. Ethan greeted them as if they had been gone for a lifetime instead of the month, which included the weeks before and after the actual competition. Ben's reception was also openly friendly. Catherine, he could tell, was still struggling to find ways to dislike him but each day found it a bit more difficult. There were times when he happened to be alone with her that he found himself relaxing his guard around her. She too reacted the same way and they often found themselves deep in conversation where they shared a genuine sense of camaraderie.

Unable to completely shake the habit of being constantly vigilant, Jarod secretly observed Parker and could tell that she felt as though she were finally home. There was a smile on her face that reached her eyes and stayed there. Her natural temperament, he discovered, was fairly mellow and easygoing as her prior obsessive anger fell away into oblivion. Here she could be openly affectionate without the worry of having it thrown back at her or facing any usurious disdain. She laughed more in the past few weeks than he had ever heard her in the past six or more years. It was good to be home.

_**The Centre—Present  
**__**Blue Cove, DE** _

Time had passed more quickly than they could've ever imagined. Still for Broots there were hours, though slowly fading, where he found himself staring off into space after a comment, sound or the scent of her Chanel perfume made him recall his missing friend. The source of her perfume came from a scarf she had left neatly folded in her personal credenza. Surprisingly enough, it was Angelo who had provided the souvenir from her Tower-sealed locked office. The savant waited until Broots was alone working late one night before approaching cautiously and slipping the scarf on top of a sheaf of reports he had finished printing for Mr. Lyle.

Before he slipped away back into the safety of the shadows, Angelo whispered, "Broots misses Miss Parker. She's good friend. Still needs your help."

Broots was shocked silly by Angelo's thoughtful expression, which obviously came fromhis empathic abilities. Once he was alone again, the tech genius gingerly picked up the cloth and ran it through his fingers. The strong scent of Parker's favorite perfume gently swirled around him and brought a fond smile to his face. Seconds later, his phone began to ring and picking it up absently, Broots was in for another shock, Miss Parker's brother Ethan, the one she shared with Jarod, was on the phone and asking for a favor. All this had occurred months ago. Since then he hadn't heard another word from Ethan, though in some ways he was very much like his equally impatient siblings. The technology Ethan had requested was very cutting edge and extremely expensive. Broots had tried explaining that the only way he could obtain the parts was by ordering them through the Centre's contacts, which would raise eyebrows and arouse suspicions. The very thought of Mr. Lyle catching wind of the request had made Broots' blood run cold. But at Ethan's quickly thinning patience and reminder that it was Parker's idea that he reach out to him, Broots finally relented and agreed to get the parts.

Life at the Centre continued on. Once the intensified search in Buenos Aires was expanded but still yielded no results, the sweeper contingents were recalled to the Centre. Shortly afterwards, Lyle, who was surveying his newest acquisitions from his missing and deceased relations, stopped by his family's summer house—formally his twin's residence. It was then that he found almost all of the home's contents had been removed. This discovery caused a blinding anger that disconnected all reason from action. He wanted to preserve select material pieces of his twin for his own purposes, one of which, if not in the least, to disgust and anger her from afar. Everything that was of any personal value to Parker had been carefully removed—pictures, furniture, personal items, even her clothing. It took several minutes before Lyle could come to his senses and carefully pick through the scant remains and assess the scene. After he was done, sweepers were assigned to keep watch on the house just in case the thief, whom he suspected was Ethan, thoughtfully returned for the rest of their sister's belongings.

_**Kowaris Cannery—Present  
**__**Anchorage, AK** _

The final checks were complete and tomorrow would be the day. Ethan circled the machine with an air of wonder and a feeling of uncertain dread settling heavily on his stomach. Getting his siblings back was proving to be a test of wills. His defiant will was matched inadequately against the incessant and increasingly vociferous will and objections of the voices that heretofore guided him. This would mark the first time in his life that he went against their advice and disregarded their warnings. He was nervous but felt he was in the right. _Her_ voice, while not agreeing with him, soothed and eased his mind by quieting the other voices. It was about time he acted like an independent adult, free from the crutch of his gift. His sister and brother would understand. He hoped that everything would work out, just as his mother's soothing voice had promised.

**_Ferrer Villa – Past  
__Mar de Azul, Portugal_**

The major was eager to see his son again. It had been close to a year since he had laid eyes on his eldest child and best friend. Jarod called every week but it just wasn't the same. Still Major Abernathy decided to give his son some breathing room, his decision to follow a girl he barely knew to live on another continent, had been a big one. Last week, Jarod informed them that he and Mari would be on their way back to the States for a weeklong visit, and to share some good news. Instead of having them travel alone to Indiana, knowing full well that the Centre wasn't easily put off, the major decided to seize the opportunity and go fetch them himself—an opportunity that would offer him a chance to see where they were staying, how they were doing and a perhaps provide a clue to his Jarod's future plans.

Catherine greeted him with a cordial coolness that urged a smile of appreciation out of him. Ben was warmer, though the suspicions that began back in Vermont continued to bother him. Once their guest was seated with a drink and offers of dinner had been given and accepted, Catherine saw no reason to beat around the proverbial bush. If Parker suffered from bouts of explosive impatience, then in observing Catherine anyone would understand where she got the trait.

Brusque, but just a point shy of rudeness, she abruptly stated, "A situation arose where my daughter needed to live near one of her teachers. They both capitalized on the prospect and now Jarod is living with Mari in Lisbon. As you can see, we live some distance from the capitol."

Unable to completely suppress a wry smile, he answered, "And you agreed to this, ummm 'arrangement'?"

A spark of rage flashed fiercely in Catherine's expressivesapphire eyes but her face remained expressionless. The good major seemed adept at pushing her buttons. Ben easily caught the ire in his wife's eyes and smoothly interjected.

"They're both extremely determined and very mature for their ages. Playing the part of overbearing and controlling parents would've pushed them farther away. As it is, they're no more than a 30 minute drive from here."

Only a hairsbreadth ashamed of himself but content with getting a rise out of Catherine, the major nodded agreeably. Pointedly addressing Ben, he asked, "I've had a long trip and though I would never admit this to him willingly, I've missed that stubborn kid I call my son, terribly. Is there any chance I can speak to him on the phone? You know, sort of give him a heads up that his old man's in town checking up on him?"

"Of course," Ben answered immediately. "Catherine, would you mind checking on dinner while I get them on the phone?"

Catherine's ire had only partially cooled as she rose gracefully from her seat and left the room without another word. Ben frowned slightly, as he crossed the room to the phone. While he dialed his daughter's apartment, he had a few seconds to ponder his wife's reactions and the major's obvious enjoyment in harassing her.

* * *

The following morning the youthful, middle-aged couple was up early. Jarod helped Mari put the finishing touches on their usually pristine apartment. He ducked out for a few minutes to meet his drag racing friend who was determined to become the next localracing champion. A few sponsors were already showing an interest in both his friend Egan and himself. It was their plan to use drag racing as a springboard into the larger arena of F1 racing. An hour later he returned to find the apartment filled with music as Mari put in a little practice. Smiling, he walked up behind her for a quick kiss on the neck. Her response was more than he expected as she abruptly stopped, turned and found his lips. Her kiss was passionate as she slid her hand around the back of his neck and up to the base of his skull to further communicate her enthusiasm. When she finally ran out of breath, Parker pulled her lips slowly from his and smiled dreamily.

"I was about to ask 'what was that for?' But getting a smile like that out of you as well, makes me glad it was meant only for me," he replied softly, feeling ten feet tall.

"Living like this is incredible. It feels like I'm inside one of my dreams, the one's I never could've live before. Someone needs to shake me cause I know I'm somewhere sound asleep. For once in my life, everything genuinely feels good."

"Even with my Dad calling to say that he flew all the way out here to take us home?" he asked with a fond chuckle.

Rising from her place at the piano, she replied, "He misses you. I would too if I were in his position. Have you told your parents about this interest of yours in drag racing?"

"Not yet. With him here, I can show him instead of trying to describe or explain it. I hope the weather will hold during his visit."

Parker turned to pick up a small portable radio and began looking for a weather report. As she crossed the room, the radio slowly began to put out static as she passed in front of the terrarium. Once she walked away again, the radio began to play as usual. Jarod noticed what was happening and held his hand out to her, asking for the radio. Taking it from her, he walked back over towards the frog's habitat and found the results were the same. It took just a few scant moments before he realized what was happening and why.

"I think they've got the time machine working and are trying to contact us."

"How do you know?"

"The frog. Whenever this radio comes near its cage, there's nothing but static on the radio. Move away from it and the static disappears," he replied. Noting the puzzled frown on her brow he continued, "It's possible for them to send an electrical pulse surge through an event horizon in order to let us know they're trying to make contact. There's an easy way to find out, I'll get the radio."

Excitedly rummaging through the bottom of the closet, Jarod quickly found what he was looking for—the duffle bag containing his preset radio. With nervous fingers he extracted the device and began powering it up, careful not to change its settings. While he was doing this, Parker reached into the glass enclosure and picked up the tiny frog that seemed to be curiously attached to her. A strange feeling of foreboding caressed the back of her neck as she watched him set up the radio. At least the constriction in her chest had nothing to do with the premonition that the voices had given her. Jarod, at her insistence, had inoculated both of them with the age inhibiting serum. She hadn't shared her intangible dread with Jarod but curiously the thought of the serum seemed to alleviate some of her worries.

Jarod quickly set up the radio and turned it on to nothing but static. It took some further adjustments until a voice could be heard—a voice Jarod didn't immediately recognize.

"Hello? Who is this?"

For a while there was no answer, as though the speaker were surprised to have gotten a response. At some length, another voice spoke up. "Jarod? Is that you? Are you there?" Ethan asked anxiously.

"Ethan, it's good to hear your voice. It's been awhile. How are things on your end?"

"Hey, it's great hearing from you too. We've been trying to reach you for several days. Do you still have the frog?"

"Yes, it's right here. As a matter of fact, your sister is holding it. Have you spoken to Dad?"

"He helped us get this machineup and functional again. You can imagine that he was more than a little skeptical over your circumstances. You have no idea how good it is to hear you again."

"What's that noise in the background? I can barely hear you!" Jarod asked, having to yell over the wall of sound. At the same time, the tree frog decided it was time to liberate itself from Parker's grasp, surprising her by hopping frantically away from her.

She glanced at it as it landed on the bed and continued hopping away. Shrugging, she drew closer to Jarod and the radio. "Ethan? I think we're losing the connection. We'll have to turn this off and try again."

Before either of them had a chance to touch that dial, their world started to get blurry and distended as a bright light engulfed them and in a wink of an eye, they disappeared. The frog, out of instinct, had hopped out of the range of the event horizon, thus rescuing itself from the hair-raising trip that his benefactress was now experiencing. It turned towards the empty space and stared unblinkingly. All it could do was wait for her to return.


	25. Back to the future

**Disclaimer:** Please see Chapter 1 which says I'm not making money off this or infringing on anyone's copyrights.  
**Author's Note:** All action in this chapter occurs in the present.

_**Time to Consider  
Chapter 25  
By Callisto**_

_****__**The Centre  
Blue Cove, DE **_

He sat crouched in the cramped space waiting and quietly rocking back and forth. To all appearances, he appeared to be in a fugue state. The only indication to the contrary was in the way he made a conscious effort not to make too much noise. Only his lips moved as he reviewed what his own unique gifts had shown him. Everyone around him, the doctors and the monsters in suits, all thought he was incapable of having his own personality, desires and thoughts that went beyond the basic. It was a notion he learned early on, that would keep them off his back.

For Angelo, time wasn't something that should be measured with a clock, watch or calendar. To him, time was much like a train or subway without the limitations of tracks, a living machine that conducts its business in its own unique manner of adjustment and balance. Often it would go about its duties without anyone noticing but the strong electrical current that was forced through Timmy's extraordinary, healthy and resilient brain caused a strange brand of damage. The synaptic pathways that led most people onto the mental road of accepted normalcy had been blocked by Dr. Raines' experiments. Angelo's resiliency came into play when his considerably strong mind forged new pathways into places only partially guessed at or otherwise unknown to the doctors who tended him and the monsters who tried to use him.

Sydney was the only one who had tried to cure him. Assisted by the cure, the damaged brain tissue slowly gave way and allowed normal functions to commence. But when Angelo gave up his last dose for the child who had been damaged as he had, those pathways were blocked once again and his mind reverted back to its habitual behaviors while effectively creating immunities to protect him from any future cures.

His body tensed suddenly and he abruptly stopped rocking and listened. A sound, far off and faint alerted him. The monsters' servants were on patrol and poking around as usual. Avoiding their notice was child's play but they could be a nuisance. Once they moved back on to their usual patrol patterns, Angelo began rocking again. Closing his eyes tightly, he recalled what Time had shown him. A quick glance at its schedule, for want of a better word, alerted him to what was about to occur. His friend would be returning to this timeline and Angelo doubted it was something Jarod wanted.

_****__**Kowaris Cannery  
**_**_Anchorage, AK_**

Ethan was still speaking to Jarod when the sequence started. He hoped that his genius brother wouldn't immediately figure out what they were up to and try to circumvent their actions. Once he heard the faint sounds of his sister's voice, Ethan was convinced that what they were doing to his siblings was the right thing.

Suddenly a blinding light began to build out of nowhere and flood the entire area. Then a wall of sound engulfed the enclosure. Amazingly it appeared as though everything they worked so hard for and spent so much time on was about to pay off royally. This would be the culmination of everything he wanted since last year when he lost both of them shortly after making a solid connection with his sister. It felt good to know that she would be home again and that he would have the chance to see her healthy, vibrant and safe.

_****__**The Centre  
Blue Cove, DE **_

The air was as dark and dank as the surroundings were close and snug—at least to him. Humming a comfortably familiar tune, he waited. Soon his patience was rewarded by a brilliant light that flooded the room, air duct and nearby hallway. All remained quiet but the light was so intense that Angelo wouldn't have been surprised if it produced a sound all its own. Then just as quickly as it appeared, everything was once again bathed in quiet darkness. For several seconds, he remained motionless, waiting with baited breath to see if the light had attracted any unwanted attention, but everything remained silent. Springing into action, Angelo scooted forward, looked through the air duct grate and found what he had been expecting.

A quick glance at the camera mounted on the wall, reassured him that it was still disabled. Once he felt confident, Angelo silently entered the small cell and inspected his visitor. He was lying on his stomach as if he had been thrown haphazardly on a bed that was too tiny for such a tall man. Getting a good long, look, Angelo noticed that many changes had occurred but at least Time had been uncharacteristically kind. Snapped out of his reverie, Angelo gingerly turned his visitor over, grabbed him from underneath his arms and dragged him to a chair against the wall where the opening of the grate waited. It took all of his considerable strength to first hoist the body onto one shoulder, and then to feed the dead weight into and through the opening. One last check of the room and straightening up a displaced item here or there, he opened the door to leave the cell and access the duct opening though another room, when the sound of rushing footsteps greeted him. With a sense of urgency, Angelo rushed in the opposite direction, entered an examining room at the end of the hall, and quickly disappeared through the grate into the air ducts. Within seconds, Angelo found his unconscious visitor still dangling halfway out of the air duct. He hauled the rest of the body through the opening, then silently apologizing, crawled over his visitor, and secured the grate once again, leaving the room with an undisturbed air.

_****__**Kowaris Cannery  
Anchorage, AK**_

The machine slowly stopped spinning as the hum of its activity slowly came to a stop. The blinding light faded allowing the observers the chance to see the first blush of their success. Once everything was still and the event horizon folded in on itself, the copious floor was deathly silent. Finally a figure approached the area where the event horizon was restricted and peered into the containment field.

Whirling around to glare at the bespeckled scientist responsible, he asked, "What happened? Where are they!"

The scientist looked with anxious confusion at the empty containment area. He was at a loss to figure out what had gone wrong. Daniel, who accompanied his father and sister to this momentous occasion, also stepped forward and glanced from Ethan to Norwood and back again.

"We have to figure out what went wrong, fix it and try to find out where they are in time. Perhaps then we can make another attempt to retrieve them."

Norwood began frantically checking his computer and the printouts. The results were the same as they had been almost a year ago—his machine had transported two large objects, only this time it had done its duty without falling apart. Norwood checked and double-checked his findings, while Jarod's family stared forlornly at the empty spot in the containment field. Their hopes of having a joyous reunion dashed with the growing fear that something terrible may have occurred to Jarod. Therefore, Norwood's loud whoop of triumph was greeted with grimly hostile and disconcerted stares.

"It worked! I know, I know, it doesn't look like it, but the results are the same—it worked," Norwood shouted triumphantly while waving a sheaf of papers over his head.

"If it worked, then where are they?" Ethan demanded angrily.

"I can't answer that one, but it has to have worked," Norwood insisted stubbornly. At the incredulous looks he got from Jarod's family, he continued, "What we have to do now is to wait for them to make contact. This must've happened before when they entered the portal. What I do know without a doubt is that they're both here in this timeframe. The results are the proof."

Daniel turned from Norwood and looking gravely at his father and sister he replied, "I'll look over his findings and try to get a handle on what's happened and where we go from here."

_****__****__**The Centre  
Blue Cove, DE **_

Even without opening his eyes, the world was spinning. The nauseating vertigo sped up crazily like an ice skater holding her arms close to her body, and then slowly—very slowly came to a stop, leaving him with a sense of familiarity. He had been through this before, he thought, as he slowly opened his eyes. Everything was dark with only minute traces of light filtering through from somewhere far away. Wherever he was, it was close, small and cramped. If the didn't know better, he would say that he was in an aluminum coffin. He reached out and his fingers disappeared into the darkness. Emboldened, he propped himself up on one arm, partially raising his torso and reached up again. This time he was met with success and felt the smooth metallic surface of his surroundings. Using his hands, he quickly assessed his situation however as he was trying to sit up, his stabilizing hand slipped and he was caught not by a bracing fall but by the hand of another. In a panic, Jarod looked around and found a familiar face in the dim light.

"What's going on? Who are you? Angelo? Is that you? Where am I?" he asked in total confusion.

"The Centre, knew you were coming—waited," Angelo said in his broken fluency. He had waited several hours for Jarod to sleep off the effects of his temporal travel. They had to get moving because the other was still very much in danger.

"You knew? What the hell happened?" Jarod asked as his voice began to rise.

"Shhhh, they may hear, will come check. Must move, go somewhere safe." With that, Angelo picked up the rope he used to hoist Jarod's body further through the duct opening and immediately began to crawl towards safety. Not wanting to be caught once again by his torturers, Jarod followed with a sinking feeling spreading with a flourish through his stomach.

Several minutes later after following Angelo through a labyrinthine maze of ducts and side vents, they finally stopped. A fine sheen of sweat coated his brow as Jarod slumped against the wall of the air duct. He looked up to see Angelo smiling crazily at him, as though supremely proud of himself. Finally catching on to his non-verbal message, Jarod peered through the grate to find they were poised above Sydney's office. He turned to share an appreciative grin with Angelo. It would be good to see his old mentor again. Then it hit him. Parker, where was she?

Angelo carefully watched his friend and felt the tidal wave of worry; fear and concern envelop his friend. "Must wait for Sydney. He will help you get out. Old way no longer any good. New traps."

"They've upgraded the security?" Jarod asked in a rush. At Angelo's enthusiastic nod, Jarod said, "I'm sure I can get around them without involving Sydney. I've got to find Mari."

Shaking his head emphatically, Angelo placed a restraining hand on his friend's muscular arm. "New trap for you. They're waiting. Sydney will help. Wait for Sydney, will come soon."

"Angelo, I woke up in the Centre, heaven knows where Mari-umm Miss Parker is now. She's probably in danger and needs me."

"This is best. Sydney knows, will explain. Trust," Angelo answered with a pleading look in his eyes.

Jarod stared at his friend and relaxed reluctantly against the cool metal of the duct. "Alright, I'll wait. I can use Sydney's car to get to her house quicker anyway."

Again, Angelo began shaking his head. "Not there, she's home now."

"What do mean? That's where I'm going to check."

"Not home as adult but home as child. Friend is young again, too," Angelo answered.

"Oh my God, I forgot. Parker wanted me to inoculate us with the age inhibitor, it must've worked?" he asked curiously.

At Angelo's answering nod, Jarod continued, "It makes sense. Going through the portal, I was placed in the same spot I used to be in when I was this age. If it wasn't for the inhibitor, we would've advanced in age and landed in the warehouse in Buenos Aires. But where is Parker's childhood home?" Jarod murmured quietly to himself, forcing his still foggy mind to work.

"Lived with Daddy—Uncle. There now," Angelo replied with a sly smile.

"Mr. Parker's house outside of Blue Cove, of course!" Jarod replied with a smile. Then glancing at his friend, he commented, "You knew all along he wasn't her true father, didn't you?"

Before Angelo had a chance to shrug nonchalantly, a noise alerted them to Sydney's early arrival. Angelo peered through the grating and waited several minutes while the elderly psychiatrist got settled in for the day. With practiced ease, the savant aimed a small device at the camera recording Sydney's entrance. The copy of the tape Angelo made of Sydney's arrival yesterday smoothly began playing in the Centre's security department.

Jarod stared at his mentor with a feeling of melancholy shock. The old man appeared to have aged a decade instead of the year that had passed. The pretender never imagined that his disappearance would have such a negative effect on the old man.

While Jarod watched his mentor, Angelo quietly opened the grate and made a faint scratching sound to attract Sydney's attention. The psychiatrist looked up sharply; then a kindly smile suffused his increasingly wrinkled visage.

_****__**"**_Angelo, to what do I owe the honor of this visit? I apologize for not visiting you earlier but as you see, they've put me to work again," Sydney chatted amiably while Angelo jumped from the vent.

"Brought Friend, needs your help," Angelo answered simply.

A look of alarm crossed Sydney's eyes. He was forming the thought of asking who Angelo wanted him to help when the friend jumped down from the opening behind Angelo. When the young man straightened, Sydney was shocked into silence. There before him was the vision of Jarod at 19 or 20.

"Gemini? What are you doing here? It's extremely dangerous for you to be here! How did you get in? The new security measures would've picked up on your DNA immediately," Sydney replied answering at least one question.

"So, they've finally perfected the DNA ident-profile. That answers one question. Sydney, I think you should sit down for this," Jarod replied kindly.

Once Sydney complied, Jarod continued, "I'm not Gemini, it's me Jarod. The original Jarod, not the clone. Look Sydney, it'll take too long to explain this…"

He was interrupted by Broots bursting into Sydney's office to tell him of a security hiccup that occurred in the security system. "Hey, Syd, you're not going to believe this but security is up in arms! Oh, hi Angelo. Last night," Broots then looked over past Angelo to the other figure in the room and abruptly fell silent.

"Mr. Broots," Jarod nodded politely. In a rush he continued before Broots started asking too many questions. "Sydney, I need you to help me get out of the Centre. Miss Parker is in danger and I need to reach her."

"Miss Parker is back!" Broots exclaimed loudly.

Moving to the door, Jarod closed it gently and then turned back to his mentor. "Please Sydney, there's no time to lose. Will you help me?"

"Of course but answer one thing for me? What was the sim we were working on when we came up with our codeword?"

"It was a shipwreck sim, our codeword was refuge and I was four," Jarod replied in a rush.

"My God, how can this be?" Sydney asked no one in particular. Then abruptly switching gears to the problem at hand he said, "Crowley is coming by to take some samples to the nearby research lab. The cart is right outside, there's an empty area underneath to carry larger items and is covered with a drop cloth. Hide there—if I remember correctly, you're not squeamish. The samples are vacuum-sealed body parts. Lyle has everything coming into the Centre scanned but he hasn't had a chance to cover all the exits. Crowley will be using one of those exits to wheel the cart through to the loading dock. Broots, I need you to take care of the cameras, put them on a feedback loop so no one will notice. I'll tell Crowley that I forgot a sample on my desk and ask him to fetch it. Here are my keys with the plate number, when I give you the signal, get out of the cart and into my car. I'll make up an excuse and follow after you."

"Thanks Sydney," Jarod said with a wide smile. Turning to Angelo, he embraced his friend, thanked him sincerely, then quickly got into the cart to await his transport out of the Centre.


	26. Who told him to move in?

**_Disclaimer_**_: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements  
_

**_Author's Note:_**_ I apologize for the lateness of this chapter's submittal. I've had so much going on that the spare time I used for writing has been consumed by other things. For those of you still reading this story, I hope you are enjoying still. _**_  
_**

**_Time to Consider  
Chapter 26  
__By Callisto_**

_**The Centre**_  
**_Blue Cove, DE_**

Broots glanced from Jarod's disappearing form over to Angelo and then back to Sydney. His Adam's apple bobbed in time to his nervous swallowing. "Was that who I thought it was?"

Angelo quietly left the office and approached the cart. Sydney stared as the drop cloth that was draped over the specimen cart, slowly stilled. "This is incredible. Every time I see him, I'm struck by how much like Jarod he truly is. What concerns me is his insistence that he_ is_ Jarod. It's true that he does seem to know certain things about Jarod. That's troubling as well, since it would indicate a deep-seated neurosis. Something extremely traumatic must've occurred for him to first be here at the Centre of all places, and then to start making these claims. Whatever it is, Broots, I have to help him. It's the least I can do for Jarod."

"I guess I understand. Just be careful, Sydney. Mr. Lyle and Mr. Cox have this place locked down tighter than a cash drawer at WalMart, probably because of all those shady projects they've started. Have you seen some of the weird people they've brought in? I mean they're weird even by Centre standards." Sydney's distracted air told Broots that his friend was preoccupied with the mystery of Jarod's clone showing up unexpectedly. He would've liked to find out how Gemini pulled it off getting inside but knew there was little time to spare to get the kid out of harm's way. "If there's anything else I can do to help, you only have to ask. Oh and Sydney? Please keep me in the loop about Miss Parker. I've been worried about her since she disappeared. Just let me know if she's okay."

"Of course, Broots," Sydney replied. He had been keeping a surreptitious eye on the red activation light on his office camera. It winked on just as Broots finished talking and Angelo reentered the office holding something behind his back. "I think I can do better than that. Why don't you come by my place for a quick lunch? I'm sure I can do better the Centre's commissary." The commissary chef had been lured away from a 5-star restaurant in Newport.

"Really? Hey, after a claim like that, you're on," he responded. Broots glanced over at Angelo who stayed near the door and decided it was time to make his exit. "I better get back. There's a pile of work my desk and I'm sure the new help desk clerk shuffled a few more projects my way while I wasn't looking." With that, Broots practically scurried away towards his office, giving the specimen cart a wide berth.

Sydney was shaking his head in disbelief, still trying to wrap his sharp mind around what the boy had said when he spotted Crowley wheeling the cart away. He never got the chance to remove one of the samples as a distraction to the lab assistant and was about to call out when Angelo, out of view of the camera, revealed what was behind his back. In his hand was a shrink wrapped bloodied appendage that he had stolen from the cart. Again, Sydney smiled appreciatively at Angelo and took his seat, beckoning Angelo to do the same. In another 15 minutes, he would get up and follow Crowley, then begin the odyssey of getting to the bottom of this present mystery.

_**Parker Family Residence  
**_**_Outside Blue Cove, DE_**

Consciousness came to her slowly but the world just outside of her eyelids was spinning crazily. It took some minutes of deep, even breathing before her equilibrium returned and the spinning stopped. Still caution was called for because her stomach was sending unpleasant nausea vibes to her brain. Though the sensation wasn't new, it had become a rarity since the combining elimated the ulser her older self had developed. As much as her supine position allowed, she took in her immediate surroundings enough to determine that the room was quiet, dusty and dark. Grim determination spurred her to action as she slowly moved into a seated position. She had been lying on a hard bed as though someone had tossed her carelessly on it as an afterthought. Her skin felt as dusty as the rest of the unused room. Dust cloths shrouded every piece of furniture that had the misfortune to have been forgotten in this room. The walls had been stripped bare but decorated with the discolored outlines of long removed pictures. Nothing of a personal nature had been left behind to gather dust. Still the room held a quiet familiarity to it that she couldn't quite place. Gingerly rising to her feet, she endeavored to gain her bearings when her most recent memories began promptly replaying. She and Jarod had been talking to Ethan on the radio when a loud noise began to drown out his voice, then nothing.

Out of long habit, she stepped over to the windows and pulled aside the heavy generic drapes. What greeted her was another familiar view. The lush side yard suffered from obvious neglect but the neighbor's house in the far distance could still be seen through the thick screen of trees. Turning around she began to move towards the closet before it hit her, she was in her old room in her Uncle's house. A small smile touched her lips as she realized where in her mind and heart she had placed that emotional black hole of a man. No matter what she did or how much she conformed to his wishes, he seemed impervious to her efforts, incapable of sustaining any warm feelings towards her that weren't simultaneously trampled on by his habitual neglect, strangling demands for her trust or casual dismissals. This felt strange because now for the first time in her life, he was separate from her. His approval and love meant little to her. Somewhere down the line, she had accepted Ben as her true father completely and unhesitatingly. The combining could be the only answer. Her adult self needed parental approval which the child self received and accepted in copious amounts from her doting father. Catherine was in a category by herself, having the most effect on the adult version of Parker. A year spent having constant contact with her mother, who at times was demanding, maintained unusually high expectations and lavished her every day with an affection that was given genuinely and freely without any desire for a quid pro quo, had done more to repair and reshape Parker's emotional psyche than even she could imagine. Though there were still some hefty puddles of shame, angst and remorse left over from her past, Parker felt more together than ever before.

The Past--this stripped down room and shrouded furniture could mean only one thing: she was back in her original timeframe. Mr. Parker's arrogance would've prevented him doing this to her room if he had even the scant chance of successfully kidnapping her again. He would want her quiet and comfortable. Willing to do what he wanted as he slowly upped the ante on her soul. The voices in her mind were unusually quiet. Perhaps, the switch between variant timelines affected them as well. The voices in the other timeframe kept chattering on about protecting their ages. That instability would force a return. She got the gist of what they were referring to and thus practically strong-armed Jarod into inoculating them.

Whatever the case, she felt almost naked without the voices chanting in her mind. The how and why she ended up back in her original present was one thing that puzzled her. Jarod's current whereabouts were the other. Warnings from the voices in her mind in the past spurred her into making certain preparations just for this eventuality. Their inoculation and letter to her mother were the best she could do without making herself look like a total nutjob.

Pushing aside these thoughts, Parker grasped the doorknob and found it turned effortlessly in her hand. She eased the door open and listened for any telltale signs of habitation from other parts of the mini-mansion. All was quiet as she slipped out of her room; carefully pulling the door closed behind her, she made her way down the back stairway to the main floor. Her childhood memories of the house came flooding eagerly back to the surface. Apparently the onslaught of memories from the other time frame did nothing to impede her memories of her original. Without ease, she navigated unhesitatingly through the house. Most of her memories were none of the carefree, happy times that her other self was able to recall. Here, there was nothing but loneliness and isolation. In the kitchen, she opened the fridge and was surprised to find that not only was it still working but well stocked with food. Leaning forward, she poked around a bit but found nothing of any interest to her stomach. Then looking around she found a bunch of bananas on the large center island and helped herself. Wandering into the living room, she headed straight for her old hidey hole, where her precious childhood icons from her time with her mother had been secreted away from her father. It was a spot he had never discovered and after her intensive training from the Centre and moving out of the house, she left most of those painful reminders behind and hopefully undisturbed. There nestled behind a cleverly concealed cutout of the base molding was the dusty leather box containing numerous photos and mementos she rescued from the dumpster where her uncle/father had consigned them. She settled down on the floor and began looking through the box of old photographs and became so preoccupied that more than an hour slipped by without her noticing. Still immersed in her find and surprised that so much had been hidden, the sound of footsteps coming lightly down the stairs went unnoticed. Fortunately, a couch hid her from casual view as the footsteps wandered further into the room. It was the sound of loud bump and even louder expletive that attracted her attention and alerted Parker that she wasn't alone in the house. As quietly as possible, Parker put down the precious photographs and listened intently. A male voice mumbled unintelligibly as the person retreated towards the den. Sounds of shuffling papers along with drawers opening and closing were all that she could hear. Flattening herself on the floor, she was obliged to gather her waist-length hair with one hand to guide it away from her face and out of the way. Why she let Jarod talk her into letting it grow out always baffled her, though she had to admit that she loved the feel of his strong hands on her scalp as he washed it. A shake of her head prevented her from allowing some inconvenient emotions from taking over. Her former quarry had managed to become, within the past year, her emotional center and inspired in her a horniness that remained steadfastly just beneath the surface—though she prided herself in being able to keep it under steely control. With cautious patience, Parker looked around the couch and saw him seated at the desk rummaging through some paperwork. The sight of the home's new resident made her eyes widen in alarm. Drawing back behind the couch, she quietly returned the photos to their box and set them on the seat cushions. Next, Parker decided to put some distance between herself and her demented twin. It figured the psycho genetics forced her to call brother wouldn't wait long before laying claim to what his relatives had left behind. The last thing she wanted was to be caught by him in his new house. Slowly backing up, she worked her way to the other side of the room when her foot connected with the outer edge of the same table he had run into causing the decorative lamp on top to wobble dangerously. Parker deftly caught the lamp before it could fall but the damage was done. The noise she created in knocking against the table caught Lyle's attention. With remarkable speed, she raced the rest of the way across the room and up the stairs taking them two at a time. By the time Lyle came out of the den to investigate the source of the noise, the room was empty but the sounds of rushing footsteps made him whirl towards the stairs in time to see a figure disappearing from view.

Puzzlement wrinkled his brow for only a few seconds while he retrieved his 9mm and proceeded up the stairs wondering how the intruder got in and how exactly he meant to get out. The game of cat and mouse was on and 30 minutes later, the mouse had proven to be wily beyond his wildest expectations. So far, all Lyle could determine of his prey was that it was female with extremely quick reflexes and possessing a sharp mind with nerves of steel. The game had been going on, non-stop as the girl ran from one part of the large home to the other, using back stairs and a confusing combination of connecting rooms to elude capture. Instead of growing weary with thwarted frustration, Lyle was exhilarated by the chase. He was hoping the girl would turn out to be Asian; already her long dark hair was making his blood pulsate in anticipation. After all this effort, he meant to take his time enjoying the fruits of his labor. Though pleasure spurred him on, business was never far behind. He needed to find out how she got in without triggering the state-of-the-art alarm but also why she seemed so familiar with the house's layout. It was a familiarity that reached beyond studying blueprints because her timing was so perfect and her movements throughout the house—too certain.

Where Lyle was exhilarated by the chase, Parker was tired of it. At this rate she could keep a few steps ahead of him forever. It was then that it dawned on her—Lyle was enjoying this game and he meant for her to keep it up for a while longer while his sick, sexual excitement continued to build to a fevered pitch. She needed out but she also needed Lyle out of commission. It was then that her inner sense decided to kick in with some much needed information. 'Help was on the way.' Darting past Lyle, she headed for the back stairs and quickly disappeared into the butler's quarters. Not pausing for a second, Parker then opened the dumbwaiter, folded her slim and dancer-flexible frame inside and began maneuvering the contraption downwards—trying to make as little noise as possible. She had just about made it to her goal when the door to the dumbwaiter opened above. "Damn!" was all she heard as she urged the pulley on faster. The downward motion stopped abruptly just as she tried to open the doors on the ground level, Lyle grabbed hold of the thick cable and tried to reverse the motion. She was so close to the doors when Lyle jerked on the cable, successfully inching the small box upwards. Out of desperation, Parker shoved open the cabinet doors and with only a few inches to spare, dove out of the small space before Lyle could trap her.

_**Ferrer Villa – Past  
**__**Mar de Azul, Portugal**_

The long ride to the villa was oppressively silent. After hours of searching the tiny apartment and questioning the neighbors, both Catherine and the major returned to the villa empty handed, with more questions than answers and worry niggling in the forefront of their minds. They brought Ben up to date with what they had discovered. In a worried rush, he hurried to the phone and tried his daughter's apartment once again. He had talked to her only last night and couldn't imagine how she could just go missing. When he got no answer, he turned his concerned gaze on his wife as though expecting her to make it all right.

The voices in Catherine's mind were muted but what few messages she received while at the apartment confirmed Ethan's tearfully obvious conclusion—Mari was gone. Very gone. Where, Catherine had no idea and the complete absence of her daughter's presence in her mind sent a fear though Catherine's soul that she didn't dare try to express. Confusion suffused her features as she returned her husband's gaze. Tears of loss began for form in her eyes when Catherine quickly turned and retreated to their bedroom.

The major watched the interaction between the couple and wisely kept out of it. Their worry and concern were legitimate and something he shared with them. His first instinctive reaction would've been to angrily blame Catherine that is if he hadn't spoken to Jarod himself only last night. Nothing in his son's voice indicated any worry or troubles. Jarod's disappearance was as much a mystery to him as it was to Ben and Catherine. How they were going to find their children was beyond him but it would be something he would keep at until he found them. He was concerned but their disappearance was still fresh enough that true alarm had yet to register in his heart. With a sense of commonality, the major stood next to Ben and turning stated without any doubt, "We'll find them."

Ben turned to Jarod's father and with his own brand of determination, stated with equal certainty, "Yes we will and if my brother has anything to do with this, it will be the last thing he'll ever do."

* * *

The next morning, Catherine slowly got out of bed. She tried her hardest to conceal her deep-seated worry over Mari's disappearance from Ben. Both he and Trevor Abernathy were more angry than concerned. It was the voices, her enhanced abilities and the unsolicited confirmation from Ethan that made Catherine practically collapse in grief. She wanted to spare Ben at least a couple more days of the heart-rending worry she was going through. The absence of Mari from her mind suggested she was dead but the voices kept chanting that she was alive in time—whatever that was supposed to mean. 

Once her husband got out of bed, telling her that he had planned on returning to Mari's apartment with Trevor, Catherine waited another hour before rising. It was as if all the energy in her body and spirit had been siphoned off leaving her weak and unable to think clearly. Her baby was gone and there wasn't anything she could do about it, except wait and hope that somehow, somewhere Mari and Jarod were alive and well. Disheveled, with a face swollen from shed and unshed tears, Catherine managed to shrug into some jeans and a sweatshirt. The only plans she could come up with for the day was to sit by the phone waiting to hear the worst. Just as fresh tears began to flow at this thought, a tentative knock came from the open bedroom door. Catherine raised her hand weakly, trying to get whoever was there to leave her in peace.

"Dona Ferrer, I've heard that something has happened. Does it have anything to do with Maritza?" inquired Ana as gently as possible. She had seen her mistress out of sorts before mostly because of incidents that had come up with the children—Ethan contracting spinal meningitis, Mari's broken arm and such. But never anything that seemed to hit her this hard. Normally, Ana would've left Catherine in peace for a while before trying to offer assistance—but she did have her orders this time.

When no answer came, Ana intrepidly walked further into the room and cautiously approached her employer. "Dona Ferrer, please tell me what has happened to make you so sad. You know I would do anything to help you."

Forcibly regaining control over her emotions, Catherine straightened up and faced her housekeeper, tears still on her face. "Maritza has gone missing. We don't know where she is or when either she or Jarod will be returning. They knew we were coming to visit yesterday but no one has seen them since. My heart tells me that something terrible has happened to my little girl and I don't know what I can do to help her."

Ana was shaken but curiously not too surprised. The housekeeper nodded sympathetically then waited until Catherine regained control of herself. As regally as Catherine usually held herself, now she seemed so lost, confused and hurt. Ana stepped closer and enveloped the woman in a warm embrace as Catherine began to lose all control and began weeping openly.

"Shhhh, it'll be okay, Dona. Have faith that no true harm has come to your Maritza. She's a good girl, very smart and mature for her age. If she's lost, she'll find her way back," Ana comforted, giving her own opinion and repeating in part what she had been told months earlier. But Catherine continued to cry, though after a short time, her tears began to abate again.

Pulling gently away from the other woman, Ana retrieved a thick, legal sized envelope that was protruding from her back waistband. "Dona, Mari gave this to me with instructions that should anything strange happen to her or if she went missing to give this to you. Please read this."

Swiping nervously at the tears on her face, Catherine took the proffered envelope and looked curiously at her housekeeper. "When did she give you this?"

Ana gave her a small smile and answered, "Over two months ago. She said not to tell anyone and if she should disappear, like in thin air, as she put it, to give this to you." Ana then rose, promising a pot of strong coffee, and left Catherine alone to read her letter.


	27. Long journey through the Centre

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.

**Author's note: **I would like to express my heartfelt thanks for those of you with the patience to continue reading this saga. I didn't mean for the story to get so long but I suspect my muse had this in mind all along. I hope all those you read this story, truly enjoy it.

* * *

_**Time to Consider  
Chapter 27  
By Callisto**_

_******The Centre  
Blue Cove, DE**_

The ride through the Centre turned out to be more harrowing than Sydney's simple plan had suggested. First of all the trip to the loading dock took longer than Jarod would've liked. The problem happend to be a bored yet chatty lab assistant. Crowley picked up the specimen cart, and then took a circuitous route through the Centre's numerous research labs slowly collecting additional samples. At one point, the cart stopped in front of Mr. Cox's new office while Crowley spoke animatedly to a dour sounding fellow who constantly complained about a ringing in his ears. Jarod rolled his eyes and shook his head at the truly strange cast of characters the Centre employed. It was during a particularly long trek down an anonymous hallway when things began to get dicey for Jarod. At the end of the passage there was a checkpoint where all large, incoming crates, carts and items large enough to carry a human were being diligently checked. Jarod peered through a discrete tear he created in the drop cloth and saw the choke point of people and packages entering from the open bay doors from the loading dock areas. Fortunately, it was as Sydney described, everyone coming into the Centre was being thoroughly examined and scanned—the exit was still clear. Not willing to take a chance, Jarod waited for the right opportunity. It soon came when a talkative Crowley abruptly stopped the cart and began chatting up a sweeper. A string of interconnected carts was passing them by when Jarod slid out from his hiding place unnoticed and untying his tennis shoe, made a show of retying it. Looking up surreptitiously, he then joined a group of odd-looking people headed out for their morning constitutional. Quickly messing up his hair, he partially stood up, hunching over for good effect and began walking with the rest towards the doors. It was a good thing he did, because Raines unexpectedly showed up, dragging his ever-present canister of squeakily compressed air behind him.

Stopping, the Centre's chairman asked grumpily, "Aren't these the samples that were supposed to be at the Meridian office? They should've been there over 20 minutes ago," the old cadaver accused disparagingly. Then without warning, he lifted the drop cloth draped over Crowley's cart while two of his sweepers hastily peeked at the empty undercarriage. Immediately giving their nod of an all clear, Raines released the cloth and staring askance at the chatty lab assistant, impulsively ordered Crowley's van to be inspected.

Still close enough to hear the rising tempo of Raines' suspicions Jarod maneuvered himself between a grossly obese nose picker and a man whose baldhead was tattooed with prominent post-operative scars. To better blend in, he allowed a thick column of drool to slip disgustingly over his lip and his eyes to take on an unfocused expression as the attendant began to section off his exercise group. The physical therapy assistant brought his damaged collection to a slow, shuffling halt and looked at his charges with rapidly fading enthusiasm. As his experienced eyes hastily surveyed the crowd, he frowned thoughtfully at Jarod. He didn't recall this one being part of the original number and that drool wasn't something he really wanted to deal with regardless of the excellent pay. He was about to check the number of defects he was supposed to exercise when he realized that he didn't have the attendance sheet with him. Yelling over at an overwhelmed sweeper, the assistant called out for the man to keep an eye on his group while he searched the common room the defects came from to get the roll. The sweeper responded with a querulous glance and turned to continue scanning the growing number of people and packages that kept queuing up to enter the monolithic Centre. The second the therapy assistant was out of earshot, Jarod glanced around to see Raines still unhappily surveying the growing incoming throng with quickly mounting anger. Lyle's gambit to keep Jarod out of the Centre and away from its expanding bevy of bizarre and morally corrupt experiments was coming at a high price. A price that Raines doubted was worth the effort.

It was taking too long to locate Crowley, as Sydney's impatience began to overwhelm him; his eyes finally spotted the lab assistant waiting with nervous apprehension while simultaneously shrinking away from Raines' sharp rebukes. Fear roiled unsteadily in the elderly psychiatrist's stomach. All he could do was watch helplessly while Raines' sweepers checked under the cart. When they shook their heads, Sydney's eyes immediately began to scan the large area around the entrance to the loading dock. His fear had started to turn to panic, when with a start and audible sigh; he finally spotted Gemini doing a wonderful job of blending in with the brain-damaged subjects who were scheduled for their weekly constitutional. However, Raines was beginning to examine the chaos the checkpoint was causing. It was easy to see why. Contrasting the ease with which personnel were exiting the complex against the bottlenecked phalanx of people, packages and supplies trying to gain entry, that were the lifeblood of the Centre, was intolerable. This thorough comparison was attracting the chairman's attention too much and drawing his eyes in Gemini's direction. Again thinking quickly, Sydney stepped up quickly and approached Crowley's cart.

"Crowley, you left before I had a chance to give you this," the Flemish doctor said briskly in his softly accented voice.

Sydney's tactic paid off—Raines turned to stare at him. Sydney nodded curtly to the Chairman and handed over the shrink-wrapped body part Angelo had removed from the cart. Raines studied the sealed package for a moment and then stared up at the proud doctor.

"Shouldn't you be readying the sim-lab for young Master Parker?" the Chairman rasped giving his former colleague a piercing glare. Sydney's loyalty to Jarod was one of the arguments he had used on the Triumvirate but to no avail. They had already agreed amongst themselves that the noted psychiatrist was the best choice to turn the genetically engineered project into the corporation's next profitable pretender. The fact that they hadn't used any of the proven pretender's DNA angered the Chairman beyond words. His bitingly critical remarks gave the Triumvirate all the ammo they needed to shut him out from all but the furthest periphery of the project which served as a slap in the face, given his long years of loyal service and dedication. His dead 'brother's' arrogance was beyond belief. A new day at the Centre, indeed!

"He's with his tutors as we speak. Progress reports showing all the latest results have already been prepared. I had an extra copy sent up to your office last night, in case you were interested."

Silently, the chairman frowned at the psychiatrist, then without acknowledging Sydney's concession, he abruptly turned and left with his small contingent of sweepers trailing behind.

During Sydney's life saving distraction, Jarod spotted a discarded lab coat that had been draped across an abandoned cart and quickly slipped it on. Once this was done, Jarod's demeanor immediately changed, wiping the drool from his chin with the lapel of the lab coat, he ran smoothing fingers through his hair and began directing the mentally challenged group into the waiting van. The sweeper who was supposed to be keeping an eye on the bunch never looked around. Jarod got each person into the van then walked around the passenger side and opened the door to find the attendance sheet for the group clipped to a board. Leaving the sheet, Jarod took the clipboard and walked purposely towards the fleet of parked Town Cars. He paused in front of a cluster of them pretending to check the license numbers against his imaginary clipboard list. When he spotted one with a license that matched the numbers on Sydney's key fob, Jarod slipped a hand in his pocket and pressed a button on the mechanism. Encouragingly, the lights flashed once and the doors unlocked. With ubiquitous officiousness, he walked purposely over to the Town Car and dropping into a squat and out of sight of the cameras, he opened the rear passenger door and slid flat across the sumptuous leather seats, closing the door behind him with a soft thump.

**Sensory Enhancement Labs  
****Level 5, Tower**

Often left neglected on the sublevels where he passed his non-productive hours, Angelo worked in the Tower's labs during the day at Raines' behest. His empathic abilities helped keep the Centre's head ghoul's money making projects on track. Often reluctant, recalcitrant or tightwad/deep-pocket clients had their vehicles and offices bugged with tiny cameras. In addition, personal items were taken from their homes and offices so Angelo could perform his magic, divining if the client was interested but dickering or just playing games. He was never wrong. This practice had yielded a hefty sum over the years—not as much as a pretender of Jarod's skill but then someone like that wasn't discovered everyday.

In a room dominated by an enormous desk on which sat 4 flat screen monitors whose radiance illuminated Angelo's face in a soft, blue fluorescent glow, he observed the action all the cameras offered simultaneously. The savant watched impassively as Jarod slipped out from under the covered cart unnoticed. Then, as Raines was about to look in his direction, Sydney appeared and diverted the monster's attention. Angelo knew his friend's instincts were still sharp and fresh, all the more still since his youth returned without touching his mind.

Ill at ease, Angelo leaned back in his chair and continued to watch as Jarod disappeared from view and presumably into Sydney's Town Car. The savant wondered if the pretender realized what he had deposited in his pocket—3 DSA recordings to take back with him through the portal. Angelo knew or rather felt that they would come in handy. What concerned him were the faint echoes of instability that radiated with gentle persistence from his friend. Returning to this time phase was a bad idea in the first place—though Angelo's empathy could do nothing more than sympathize with Ethan's lonely plight. Unfortunately, what Ethan couldn't have anticipated was their taking the age inhibitor. The event horizon Jarod came through caused a rippling effect on the merge. The first time around Time adjusted and imposed the merge with their other selves—unimpeded. On this trip, the age inhibitor prevented Time from making its proper adjustments. The only result possible was time warp instability. There wasn't any way Angelo could've warned his friend. It was only through his own empathic ability that the savant felt this trouble but there was little he could do to help. The only cure would be for both of them to return to the past—because Angelo felt they both would soon begin to feel the effects. A heavy curtain of sadness enveloped the savant as he effortlessly erased Jarod's sneaky new hiding place in Sydney's Town Car.****

East Concourse Loading Dock  
**Blue Cove, DE**

Sydney watched as Chairman Raines walked angrily away. Lost deep in thought, a loud explosion approximating a sigh from Crowley dragged him from his dark reflections. Abruptly smiling at the lab tech, Sydney nodded to him and extending his arm in the direction of the freshly searched van, the psychiatrist walked with the chatty lab tech, who was quickly overcoming the anxiety brought on by the Chairman.

"I wonder how much longer they'll be keeping this up?"

"I believe that decision will be up to Mr. Lyle," Sydney responded coolly.

"From the look on the Chairman's face, I think he'll be the one making that decision," Crowley responded sotto voce.

"Perhaps you're right," Sydney rejoined politely. He wasn't the least interested in the politics revolving around the Centre's upper echelon's secretive security concerns. For a moment, Sydney was drawn again to his own thoughts as he began to examine afresh the strange relationship between Mr. Parker and his so-called brother Raines. Their prior actions against each other still belied their connection causing Sydney to further doubt the earlier DNA results Broots had obtained almost 2 years ago.

Crowley finally noticed the older man's distraction when he received no answer to his on-going observations. Quietly the two men parted, each to his own vehicle. Crowley noticed that the elderly doctor opened the door to his Town Car without unlocking and disarming the alarm first. Shrugging, Crowley happily figured he would look up the statistics on car theft and remind Sydney of the virtues of locking up. He liked to be of service and the psychiatrist was one of his favorite people.****

Mountain Spring Rd  
**Blue Cove, DE**

They had been driving for about 10 minutes without a word being spoken between them. Sydney was being extra cautious. Jarod trying to gather his thoughts, though it actually took an effort—something with which he was unfamiliar.

"Okay, we're out of view of the Center," Sydney began after turning on the car's radio. "Please tell me what's going on. How did you get inside the Centre undetected and what were you hoping to achieve?"

"That's what I've been thinking about while I was waiting for you. The only answer I can come up with is Ethan. It had to have been a trap he set up. First they had to make contact. Once that was done, engage us in a conversation and for good measure, make sure Mari was there as well before springing it."

Sydney listened to him with growing confusion. "Gemini, what trap are you talking about? And what does Miss Parker's brother, Ethan, have to do with it? There's been a new search team assembled whose sole purpose is bringing him to the Centre."

Jarod absorbed this information while messaging his temples. A fierce headache was starting to throb in his skull. All he wanted right now was Mari safe and sound by his side but there were a few obstacles to that goal. "First off, I'm not Gemini. I realize this will be hard for you to take in all at once but here goes. A year ago, I was in Buenos Aires with Miss Parker still chasing after me. She was in danger from Raines and I purposely kept her on the move and away from his clutches. I factored in her persistence but didn't count on her using her inner sense so effectively to get that close. I had ducked into a derelict warehouse when she caught up. That's when it happened. We stumbled into an experiment on temporal portals and got caught in the middle." He stopped when he saw a familiar landmark of a large oak tree that was situated on a bend in the road. Using his elbow as a fulcrum, Jarod leaned upwards and peered out of the side window to find they were headed in the wrong direction.

"Are we headed towards Parker's house?"

"Yes. You said she was in trouble."

"Damn it! No, not her house but her father's house—Mr. Parker's house. That's where Angelo said to find her."

"Why the devil would she go there? If she were trying to avoid the Centre then she would try to get to her own house. Lyle's stationed sweepers there just in case Ethan shows up again and that's where we're headed."

The last part of Sydney's statement caused a number of questions to pop up in Jarod's mind. Clamping down on his own rising anger and the sense of urgency in Angelo's face when he spoke of Mari, Jarod took a deep breath. "Sydney, listen to me! She's at her father's place. It makes sense because the Centre is where the portal placed me because of my age. Look, the story is too long and involved for me to go into now. Just trust that I know what I'm doing and take me to Mr. Parker's old house."

"Gemini or whoever you believe you are, if Miss Parker was truly at her father's old house, than the Centre would already have her in custody. It's too late because Mr. Lyle moved into the house 3 weeks ago," Sydney replied while smoothly bringing the Town Car to a halt. They were less than a mile from Parker's house.

"I really am Jarod," came the reply from the backseat. Thinking of something that only Sydney would know Jarod immediately spoke up. "Remember the winter you gave me a snow globe? It was the first time anyone had ever given me a present. Or the time you hit me over the head in the hills of Kentucky when Nicholas had been kidnapped? Come on, Sydney, it's me Jarod. So many impossible things have happened to me. I know this is difficult and I can offer proof but first I need you to get me to Mr. Parker's house, now!"

Desperation rimmed Jarod's expressive brown eyes. There was truth and honesty there, just as they had been when he was that age. It was a look that genetics couldn't duplicate and convinced Sydney that he just might be talking to an impossibly youthful Jarod. The final straw came when Jarod opened the rear door. Sydney slammed the gears into reverse, forcing Jarod to stay inside and with smooth deliberation he turned the big car around and headed down a bumpy side road. Within minutes they were in sight of the large house and instantly knew there was trouble.

"Is that an alarm? Sydney, stop here and wait for me. I'm going in to see if she's still there," Jarod said urgently as he alighted from the barely stopped car.

"Jarod wait! I'm coming with you."

"No! Stay here. I'm going to get her out and we'll need you to get us out of here in a hurry. Don't worry Sydney, I'll do my best to get back quickly. You should know by now that as good as I was in deflecting you and Parker from some of my more sensitive pretends, I'm equally adept at freeing you from traps. Call it an occupational hazard," Jarod replied. It was then he gave his old mentor his trademark smirk which sent Sydney's mind reeling. He really was Jarod!

The pretender saw the flickering confusion of disbelief on his old friend's face and breathed a sigh of relief. At least with his mentor, he had some basis of credibility but it was as he thought. To try and explain what had happened to him to his father from the variant time frame would've proven impossible and ruin any credibility he had with him. Time travel was just too bizarre and out there for anyone to believe—anyone who hadn't experienced it. Even then, there were moments when he thought he needed to pinch himself to believe what was happening was true. But it wouldn't be anything Jarod would ever recommend—the side effects were horrendous.


	28. Welcome Back

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.  
**Author's note: **Happy Memorial Day!

_**Time to Consider  
Chapter 28**_

_**By Callisto**_

_********__Ferrer Residence – Past  
_Mar de Azul, Portugal 

_Catherine looked down at the thick envelope Ana had shoved into her hands. So preoccupied, she barely noticed when her housekeeper gently squeezed her shoulder and slipped out of the room. The handwriting on the outside of the envelope was clearly written in a woman's hand. It was the type of script that usually comes from years of writing numerous papers, letters and memos. On the face was written: For my mother._

_Several seconds ticked by as Catherine stared at those 3 words—even in this, her handwriting, Mari showed a shocking level of maturity. A shakily, deep sigh seeped unhappily from her as fresh tears of loss began to well up in her eyes. Unexpectedly the thought of her other child, Ethan sprang into her mind. Without much consideration or thought, Catherine blinked her eyes clear of tears and with the envelope still clutched tightly in her hand, she walked over to her son's room where he sat forlornly, absently staring at the plastic soldiers laying in front of him._

_Ethan looked up at his mother's tear-stained face and continued to watch her as she walked over and sat next to him on the floor—much in the same way Mari would often do. Before she could get fully settled, he had his arms around her waist and his head buried in her side. Instantly empathetic to his needs, Catherine wrapped an arm around his body and then opened her letter._

_'__Momma, _

___If you are reading this, then it means that I and most likely Jarod as well, have mysteriously gone missing. Please believe me when I say it probably wasn't of our own accord but that time has finally caught up with us. Fortunately, our disappearance was sudden and more than likely strange enough to prepare you for what you're about to read. Under normal circumstances, I wouldn't have ever made the attempt to explain this but now, because of what's happened and with the voices in _your _mind backing me up, I think you will. '  
_

_After reading, then rereading the first few lines, Catherine sat up a bit straighter and for a moment wondered what could've possibly happened that her daughter, who seemed to have planned on 'disappearing' with Jarod, that she would've anticipated these terrifying circumstances. Not just terrifying to a loving parent whose child had runaway but strange to __her_, knowing the voices would inform her that their vanishing without a trace was far more than bizarre than an immature prank. Refocusing her attention on the letter, Catherine continued read. Half an hour later when Ana peeked in to check on her, she found the master bedroom empty. After straightening up a few things there, Ana walked out into the hall with an armload of linen and decided to pick up the laundry Ethan usually left scattered around his bedroom. She was about to knock on the partially open door when she spotted Catherine reading with concentrated absorption while simultaneously scratching Ethan's back as he lay across her lap sound asleep. Ana smiled and softly crept away careful not to disturb a woman who only thirty minutes ago seemed on the brink of an immeasurable abyss but now had the look of confused incredulity stamped on her features like a reader of the last few pages of a particularly involved Agatha Christie novel.

_

* * *

_

_********__Kowaris Cannery – Present_  
**_Anchorage, AK_**

_Daniel had gone over the reports, graphs and raw data extracted from the time machine. On the seventh review, he scratched his head for the hundredth time and sat back staring at the results. Norwood was correct. In comparing the data the only conclusion was that they had both made it back to this timeframe, however they hadn't shown up. On the chance that Daniel's shifting theory might be the case, Norwood contacted some friends of his in Buenos Aires to check on them and to see if perhaps they actually appeared in the abandoned warehouse where they originally disappeared. So far they hadn't heard back and as time stretched on, the odds that they were in South America began to dim. The major was more reluctant to relinquish this faint prospect but Daniel was more practical reasoning that had they shown up unscathed in Buenos Aires, Jarod would've found a way to contact his family._

_While Daniel was speaking to Emily and the major, Emily noticed Ethan acting very strangely. Once again it appeared as though the voices were speaking to him and in doing so, causing him some pain. With his face pinched in a mask of discomfort, Ethan listened to something only he could hear. Slowly his expression eased and his eyes opened with a determined focus Emily had never seen before in her younger sibling. Urgency had apparently gripped him, as he looked frantically around, ran upstairs to the living quarters and then returned with a duffle bag overflowing with clothes. Abruptly standing, she inadvertently interrupted Daniel's scientific dissertation and smoothly blocked Ethan's hasty exit._

_"What's going on? What did they tell you?"_

_"Norwood's right, they're here, in this timeframe. They're in danger and need my help. Dad was right, so was Daniel and everyone else, but I wouldn't listen, I couldn't. Now, I need to make this right," Ethan rambled distractedly. Remorse and regret lined his every feature and bowed his posture._

_"Okay, take it slowly. You can't just run out of here half out of your wits. Start over and tell us what's going on now. You say the voices told you they made it back?" Emily asked in a calming voice, her hands held out as if to steady him._

_Both the major and Daniel were listening closely and Norwood, who left to get a bite to eat, had returned to hear the last part of Emily's question. The scientist always thought Ethan was strange but __voices?_

_"Yes, I don't have time for this! They need my help," Ethan yelled urgently._

_"The last time you acted on impulse without filling us in. This time you're going to take a few minutes to tell us what the hell is going on," the major commanded sternly. He rose from his seat to stand next to his son and placed a reassuring hand on the younger man's shoulder._

_The major's mixture of command and compassion encouraged Ethan to take a deep breath and gather his thoughts. "The voices. For a while they were quiet. It was strange. For once in my life everything was quiet. Then about a minute ago they started up again. They're here, Jarod and my sister. They're in danger and need my help. I have to go to them."_

_"Do you have any idea where you're supposed to be heading?" Emily asked curiously._

_"They're in Blue Cove, near the Centre. Right now they're okay but the danger increases everyday and if I don't get to them, they'll get caught by a sweeper team. I have to reach them within the next day or two."_

_"Very well, we won't detain you but I'm coming along. If Jarod needs help, I'm going to be there to make sure __both_ my son's come out of this intact," the major stated uncompromisingly.

_At the desperate look on Ethan's face, the major nodded knowingly and continued, "There's no need for me to pack besides, and it looks like you've packed enough for a small platoon. Let's get going."_

_Ethan nodded enthusiastically and then looked at his sister. Emily smiled and nodded. "Go. Get your sister and Jarod and bring them back here, to safety."_

_Watching their hurriedly retreating figures, Norwood stepped forward and said aloud to no one in particular, "He hears voices in his head? And everyone says I'm strange!"

* * *

_

_****__**Parker family residence  
Outside Blue Cove, DE **_

_Parker had gained ground. Fainting left towards the back of the house; she doubled back unexpectedly and made a successful dash for the front door. The door opened readily but only a few inches. A security chain barred her escape as the burglar alarm began to blare obnoxiously loud. Slamming the door shut, Parker abandoned her gambit for freedom barely evading Lyle's silenced bullet as it tore through the side molding on the door. Another round of hide and seek brought the two on opposite ends of the same hallway. Lyle had finally reached the end of his patience._

_"Game's over, honey. Time to show me yours," he called out menacingly._

_Instinct made her stop in her tracks. The confident malevolence in his tone caused her to lift her hands in surrender. She knew Lyle had the upper hand and was fresh out of ideas on how to thwart his bourgeoning interest. There was no way she would ever submit to enduring Lyle's twisted perversions. Her predicament would quickly evolve into something neither of them wanted._

_"I like a good game of cat and mouse as much as the next guy but now's the time for me to get a look at my catch. Turn around." When she remained stock still, he repeated more forcefully, "Turn around. Now!"_

_Slowly, she turned around and ever cognizant of her longer hair, she leaned forward and allowed the thick curtain to cover most of her face. The frustrated expression on his face urged a pleasantly cynical smile out of her._

_"Feeling a bit coy? I have a cure for that. Now let me see your face!" The full force of his malice was diminished somewhat by the sudden ringing of the phone._

_Jarod skidded to a stop at the side of the house. He had to jump the neighbor's large, smooth wooden fence to gain access to the Parker backyard. Fortunately, his pretend at the police academy had taught him a technique of scaling it easily. The alarm was still blaring when he reached the house, but he could hear the faint shrilling of a telephone inside. It had to be the alarm company on the phone wanting a pass code. Without it, the police would arrive in about 10 to 20 minutes. The affluence and small size of Blue Cove meant they would arrive soon rather than later. Jarod shucked off the Centre lab coat quickly and wrapping it around one arm, he used his elbow to break out a nearby window, the sound of which was easily dwarfed by the alarm. Immediately, he reached through the broken glass and unlocking the window, cleared a way of any sharp shards and crawled through. He had made it to the front when he could hear faint voices coming from the second floor. Lyle was giving the alarm company the codeword to abort any further action. As though hearing his thoughts, the alarm abruptly stopped and the house was washed in an uneasy silence. Looking around, Jarod spotted a 12 inch tall statuette of a Greek goddess. It was heftier than he anticipated. A grim smile of satisfaction touched his lips as he climbed the stairs quietly. As he neared the top, Lyle was once again speaking. Arrogance, desire and perversion were in his every word as Jarod approached silent and unnoticed._

_The scene which greeted Jarod was that of an 18 year old Parker at the far end of the upstairs hallway with her hands up and her heavy, dark hair partially shielding her features. At his end, Lyle stood with a 9mm in his hand, shirtless and obviously aroused. Something inside Jarod's mind snapped. His habitual control had abandoned him where Lyle was concerned. First the sociopath had been involved in the experiment to stop his heart. Then he shot and murdered his brother Kyle in a sloppy effort to kill him again. Next, he kidnapped his mentor's son, Nicholas in a failed effort to capture him, leaving a bloody trail of bodies in his wake. After that, Lyle had shoved his sister, Emily from a window almost killing her and then followed up with the kidnapping Jarod's lover, Zoë to distract him from reaching Ethan. Now, he was holding a 9mm on Jarod's current lover, Miss Parker and from the looks of it, he had every intention of raping his own twin. With silent deliberation, he sneaked up behind Lyle and hit him with determined precision over the back of the head with the statuette. He stared down at the felled but still breathing murderer. Lyle had done much to hurt, harass and murder those with whom the pretender had formed an emotional bond. A soft sigh caught his attention as Jarod looked up to see the blatant relief on Parker's face._

_When Parker saw Jarod appear slowly up the stairs behind Lyle, she was glad that her hair was obscuring most of her face. Never taking her eyes off Lyle to avoid rousing his suspicions, Parker watched as Jarod struck her sick brother in the head. Relief flooded her mind as she relaxed her arms and leaned against the wall. Once again the voices proved to be helpful. She had staved Lyle off long enough for Jarod to come in and clean his clock. Something she could've done but the results would've been far messier. A heavy sigh and grateful smile graced her face as she wordlessly expressed her thanks. The closed expression she received in return, confused her until she noticed that his eyes were once again turned on Lyle with a darkly ominous gaze._

_In a rush, she ran up to Jarod and did something very un-Parker like—she threw her arms around his neck, forcing Jarod into a tight embrace, and preventing him from caving Lyle's head in with the pretentious statuette._

_"It's alright, sweetheart. Everything's okay now. You have no idea how glad I am to see you," she whispered softly in his ear; first to express her relief in his taking care of Lyle and also in seeing him. Regardless of her intent, her embrace, soft voice and scent instantly calmed him. Having her in his arms is what his mind and heart needed as he returned her hug._

_"He didn't touch you? Are you hurt?"_

_"I'm fine. I can take care of horny one-thumb hopping on one leg," Parker answered casually but she sighed in disgust as she stared down at her brother._

_"If you haven't already noticed, we're back in our original timeframe. I was transported back to the Centre, probably because of that inhibitor we took. That's why you're here now. This is where you were during this time frame at your physical age."_

_"Back to the future and our messed up lives, now that's just super," she replied with biting chagrin. Her sarcasm masked the wonder in her mind at his ability to waltz in and out of the Centre at will._

_"Yeah, getting anyone to listen is more challenging than ever. Have you taken a look at yourself in the mirror?"_

_"If you're any indication, than I take it that the inhibitor worked on both of us. I haven't had the chance to look in any mirrors. I've been keeping one step ahead of 9 fingers who just recently discovered his last digit was hiding in his pants. But what about you? Do __they_ know you're back?"

_"No. I avoided detection and with Sydney's help, I got out of the Centre. Apparently they've instituted a new security measure designed to keep me out of the complex—DNA-ident." At her shocked expression, he nodded and continued. "Yes, they've finally perfected it. Why they're using my DNA pattern to keep me __out_ of the Centre is beyond me. I thought that's where they wanted me."

_Parker's eyes took on a faraway gaze as she thought through this piece of information. "They must be up to something again. This time they want to keep you from ruining their trials."_

_"Let's worry about that later. We need to get out of here before he wakes up."_

_"Before we leave Lyle to his private torture den, I have an idea. I want to discredit any claims or excuses he'll give to Raines," she said as the idea formed fully in her mind. Jarod watched her face with interest, wondering where she was going with this. "Help me to clean up any traces of our presence in this house. That way, continuing to believe Lyle without any physical evidence, would mean that the Centre and most importantly Raines will have to go on faith—something that bald ghoul doesn't have a clue about," she said with a grim smile. Jarod gave her an amused smile, thoroughly aware of what she was doing and agreeing wholeheartedly. He nodded and surprised her by kissing her hard on the lips and jogging downstairs to start erasing their fingerprints. Once she was alone, Parker was unable to suppress the urge to kick Lyle in the ribs and raced back to her old bedroom. A couple minutes later she had wiped down every surface she touched and bundling the sheet she woke up on, ran down the back stairs and used the sheet to clean up all traces of her presence. She was determined that all Lyle would have to explain his outlandish story were his assertions and Raines' incredulity—the latter proving to be more influential. Downstairs she found Jarod wiping the window sill and statuette. His final touch was to take some small shards of glass and kick them under the window sill as though the window had actually been broken from the inside first. Only a close analysis would reveal the truth. Parker carefully placed the sheet in the washer, used a towel to press the correct buttons on the machine and started the cycle. Next, she joined Jarod in the living room, retrieved her box of photos and left with the Pretender._


	29. Hello Sydney!

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.  
**Author's Note: **Again, I apologize for the lengthy wait for this chapter. I'm hard at work on the next chapters and hope to post those soon. Thanks to those who are still reading.

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 29**_

_**By Callisto  
**_

_**Vancouver International Airport  
**__**Vancouver, BC**_

They landed quietly at the large airport. It had been decided that they should take commercial flights under alias' different than the ones they were using in Alaska in order to avoid attracting any unwanted attention. A connecting non-stop flight had been arranged; all that was left to do was to wait. The major glanced over at Ethan and felt his heart ache at the younger man's expression. There was pain, guilt and fear etched in his features as his eyes took on an unfocused glare while he listened to his internal angels/demons. The trip down from Alaska had been less than eventful with Ethan filling him in on the details the voices had supplied while the major flew the small Cessna south to Vancouver. According to the voices, they had only a couple days before the Centre would begin to zero in on Jarod and Miss Parker. The urgency of getting to them quickly and secreting them out of the area quietly was effectively communicated. Already they had been waiting several hours for a connecting flight, each hour ratcheting up the tension both men felt another notch. Ethan was exhausted. The voices seemed to realize that he was no longer shutting them out and began asserting themselves with a vengeance that didn't leave much room for sleep or even rest.

The major looked over at his son again but remained silent. There wasn't much he could say that would relieve Ethan from the terrible burden under which he was suffering. On the outside, it looked like the voices were actively torturing the fellow. A shuddering sigh came from his weary offspring as Ethan slumped further in his seat and fell into a deep, fitful sleep.

_**Sydney's residence  
**_**_Blue Cove, DE_**

They had kept their heads down during the entire trip to his home. His house was the only place he could think of to take them where they could remain a short while until better accommodations could be secured. Jarod refused to answer any questions and the only glimpse Sydney could get of their rescued damsel gave him the impression of a young girl, not the brash, self-confident woman who was Miss Parker. Jarod had a number of things to answer for none of least was a full explanation of what was going on.

Once he pulled into the garage around the back of the house, he alighted from the Town Car slowly. His younger passengers on the other hand scrambled out and made a beeline to his back door. Quicker than using a key, Jarod picked Sydney's lock effortlessly and opened the door for the girl. Sydney was again denied a good look at his female guest and was obliged to follow the youthful couple inside. He was on the verge of angrily demanding an explanation, when Jarod turned and expressed his gratitude to Sydney sincerely.

"Thank you, Sydney. Without your help, I'm not sure this whole situation would've turned out so well."

"You're welcome. But Jarod, what exactly is going on? What's happened to you? Who is this girl and why was she in Lyle's house? I thought we were trying to help Miss Parker."

The girl was listening to their conversation and was on the brink of going into the living room to give them some privacy when she heard her name. A mischievous smile graced her face when she whirled around to look at him.

"Don't you recognize me, Freud?"

Sydney stared at the girl for several seconds before stumbling back. Jarod quickly grabbed his mentor's elbow and guided him into a waiting chair. The psychiatrist was mute from shock. The last time he had seen her this way was twenty years ago. There could be no mistake, but his mind refused to relent. It was impossible, there was some trick or Mr. Parker cloned his own daughter—but that seemed more farfetched than believing that she was the original Miss Parker.

His eyes followed her and watched her every movement, as she arched an eyebrow at his silence, strode quickly to the sink, opened a cabinet door above the counter and began filling a glass with water.

"Sydney? Are you all right? I'm surprised Jarod didn't warn you," she said, gliding a remonstrating glare at an equally youthful Jarod.

"I was having a hard time getting him to believe me. One look at you and he has no trouble at all not confusing you with a clone."

"As if anyone in that place would want to clone me," she replied with a cynical chuckle. The sight of Sydney's ashen complexion quickly sobered her as she placed the ignored glass of water within easy reach on the kitchen table.

"How could this be? Am I hallucinating? Or is this some bizarre experiment to get me to resign from the pretender project?"

Both Parker and Jarod frowned at his last question, though Parker's eyes took on an unfocused stare as she listened to voices only she heard and understood. Smoothly recalling herself, she looked into the psychiatrist's eyes with a gentle kindness he had never seen before.

"I suppose a full explanation would be easier coming from someone you used to work with rather than a man you think of as your child," she started with a deep sigh, oblivious to the astonished mixture of emotions on Jarod's face. Sydney was equally surprised and more convinced that they were who they claimed mainly from their interaction coupled with the confluence of expressions playing across Jarod's features.

"Let's see, this whole thing started over a year ago. I was sent with a sweeper team to retrieve Jarod after we found a lead on him in Hawaii. He kept leading me by the nose all over the globe, until we wound up in Buenos Aires and that idiot Karl countermanded my orders and decided to put in a little target practice. You were right about him, Sydney. I had to hit that moron over the head to stop him. Well, I'll skip all that chasing garbage we went through, so suffice it to say that I found Jarod inside a dilapidated old warehouse where some mad scientist just happened to be conducting an experiment no one would've believed in a million years. You with me still?"

Glancing from Parker to Jarod and back again, the elderly man replied quietly, "As a matter of fact, you have my undivided attention, Miss Parker."

"That was cold Sydney. You believe her without batting an eye but you gave me a hard enough time," Jarod replied with light amusement.

"That's because we were alone, outside of a restaurant during lunch when I told Parker about seeing Karl receive what appeared to be instructions from Mr. Raines just before they were scheduled to leave. No one else was around—I made sure of it." Then turning his eyes on Parker he asked with a calmness he wasn't feeling inside, "Please continue. I'm curious to find out how and why you're practically 20 years younger."

While Sydney replied to Jarod's light admonishment, Parker was busy mentally juggling. She was looking at her watch, listening to Sydney, trying not to show her true feelings for Jarod all while listening simultaneously to the voices in her mind as they informed her that her stay in Sydney's house would have to be extremely brief. She didn't question why the voices had become so chatty all of a sudden or why she could hear them without any effort—she just accepted it.

"That story better hold until bedtime, Syd. How long have you been away from the office?"

He turned to get a look at the time display on his built in oven and nodded appreciatively. "I've been gone for about 90 minutes. I had better check in. Since you've been away, they've given me a new project. Fortunately, along with it came some rather unexpected liberties. One of which is that my presence isn't required during certain parts of the day. Give me a moment please."

Both young people followed the shrink out of the room with their eyes. Neither bothered going to check to make sure he didn't call in the sanity police. Jarod because he trusted his mentor and his lover's instincts; Parker because the voices said he wanted to help Jarod and half way believed her. Besides, she reasoned to herself, the Centre would be the last place anyone would call sane.

_**Ferrer Residence – Past  
**__**Mar de Azul, Portugal**_

Catherine had read the letter through several times and was still having difficulty believing what she was reading. She sat with Ethan sleeping peacefully in her lap. The child was mentally and emotionally exhausted. He had been unable to get any rest since his sister had gone missing.

The implications were mind boggling but Mari's account explained much. Like, how she knew that whoever was her father, had to be Mr. Parker's brother. Her strange maturity was also explained but curiously, Mari didn't say how old she was when she went through the time portal. Obviously, her daughter had to have been an adult. The rest was beyond her wildest nightmare. Catherine thought about her little girl, the loneliness of her alternate childhood, the conditioning Leith had subjected her to coupled with his inability to sustain any warmth beyond his strangling possessiveness and dedication to the Centre, spelled a psychological/emotional dilemma that would be a challenge for an already well adjusted person. All Catherine's imagination could come up with was beyond frightening and depressing. Her mind immediately went back to the charity ball when she found her daughter flirting with men twice her age. Perhaps they hadn't been that much older than she had originally thought. She wondered what exactly had Leith put her little girl through in the other timeframe for Mari to attempt to kill that young sweeper, who granted was saying some pretty horrible things. The controlled and focused violence in Mari's eyes and the steadiness of her hand after Jarod caught her was almost frightening. A noise attracted her attention as she looked up and caught a glimpse of her husband as he moved away from Ethan's doorway.

Catherine was about to get up when the weight on her lap shifted to a more comfortable position. Placing her letter on the floor beside her, she gently gathered her son in her arms and holding him close, struggled to her feet successfully and placed the still sleeping child on his bed. While she retrieved the light blanket at the end of his bed, her foot kicked the letter underneath and completely out of casual view. Once she was done, Catherine turned to follow Ben to the sun-drenched living room.

Head bowed in fierce concentration, Ben paced back and forth, lost in thought. So far all possibilities had been extensively exhausted. He had approached the authorities but was told that he had to wait two more days before reporting his daughter missing. The major was still running down a lead on one of Jarod's racing friends to see if possibly he had told them of an unexpected trip. Abernathy was keen on the idea the minute he heard it, Ben not so much. Mari would've informed them if she were leaving or at the very least leave a note informing them. It was a tendril of hope that Ben figured was worth looking into for the moment. There were darker possibilities that were clouding Ben's mind now.

"What do you hope to accomplish by confronting him?" Catherine asked without preamble.

Ben paused in his pacing while turning to look at his wife. It was strange how there were times when she knew exactly what he was thinking and about to do. He wondered if she knew about the troubling suspicions that had begun to plague him. "It's not a stretch to believe Leith had something to do with her disappearance. He's already tried it twice."

"If that were true, your contacts would've alerted you by now. They haven't. But if you go there, angry at the world, he'll know that she's missing and we have no idea where she is. Not the smartest thing for us to do."

"Really? Then what would you suggest? That I sit here and read tea leaves? I want my daughter back and that's all I care about," he answered in frustrated anger. 'That is if she truly is my daughter,' he added in his mind. Either way it didn't matter. The headstrong beauty who was a carbon copy of her mother had won his heart and there wasn't anything he could do about it except react if anyone tried to hurt her.

Catherine didn't need the voices to know what was going on in his mind, but they informed her anyway. In a voice steadier than she thought possible she replied, "I want our daughter back as much as you, however, this isn't the way to go about it. Leith doesn't have any idea where she is or who took her. And if you appeal for the use of the Centre's resources, the Triumvirate will demand a quid pro quo. Instead of losing Mason, we might lose her as well."


	30. Let's do lunch

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual stuff about not making any money.  
**Author's note: **My sincere thanks for all those still reading this epic tale. However, I apologize for the shortness of this chapter.

_**Time to Consider  
Chapter 30 **_

_**By Callisto**_

_****__**Sydney's residence  
Blue Cove, DE **_

After making arrangements for his newest on-going project to proceed without him, Sydney, along with his youthful guests, got ready to prepare lunch. He had explained that Broots had been invited over and asked for their help with the meal. Shock almost overcame him when they readily offered to prepare it for him. Demoted to setting the table and getting the various ingredients and tools they asked for, he watched the couple work uncomplainingly. The noted psychiatrist couldn't help but observe them in much the same manner as any clinician. In body, they had regressed 20 years but it was clear other changes had occurred as well. In mind they were fairly much the same as they ever were but in attitude they progressed beyond anything he had ever seen in them as adults. Once again his eyes were resting on 2 lonely children who found friendship in each other. Jarod's genius continued to be obvious to any but the most casual observer; his abilities still far outstretched anything Sydney had ever seen before. However those same gifts were effectively counter-balanced by Parker's own, less obvious gifts which rendered her capable of holding her own against the pretender. She had the unusual ability of anticipating him, as though her inner sense allowed her to understand him in a way his psychiatrist had always found difficult to penetrate. It was then when it occurred to Sydney that Parker's use of her own inner-sense far preceded her conscious knowledge of it. He realized that this ability had always been with her and its only and main obstacle had been the woman's maintenance of an abrasive, protective façade that kept others in the dark. He wondered if left unchecked, how quickly she would've been truly able to capture Jarod if certain emotions and familial distractions/agendas hadn't gotten in the way.

Jarod had long since become used to Sydney's scrutiny. Most of his life had been spent under the psychiatrist's unwavering curiosity. Though Jarod was used to the examination, he always knew whenever he attracted Sydney's interest. He glanced at Parker's profile and felt his heart constrict with emotion. He had a few lovers since his initial escape from the Centre years ago, but none had managed to make him feel the way she did when he was with her—even when they had been adversaries. Unexpectedly, an overwhelming feeling of possessiveness washed over him. He didn't quite understand it or why it suddenly become so prominent in his psyche but it was a development that he didn't want to share with his mentor. What he felt for Parker was always kept strictly private and not something he had ever discussed with anyone. Now wasn't the time to change anything, though the intensity and sudden occurrence of his rapidly growing obsession was starting to concern him.

Parker was as aware of Sydney's inquisitive stare as she was of Jarod's amorous focus. When she mentioned to Sydney that he had been away from the Centre too long, she had hoped that the nosey psychiatrist would return there to avoid raising suspicions. Instead, he sprung this lunch on them, thus subverting Parker's hope to have a few intimate hours alone with the pretender. Taking a deep breath, she was at least grateful for having something constructive to do with her hands while Freud watched them. Busy hands kept her focus away from her man's derriere while she resolved to keep up the pretense of a platonic relationship with an increasingly attractive Jarod but she was sure that somehow Sydney would see through her.

_****__**Vancouver International Airport  
Vancouver, BC**_

Their connecting flight had been cancelled. This occurred while both father and son fell into a fitful sleep. Now awake and irritated, they were told by a harassed gate attendant that the flight had been cancelled due to mechanical errors and the only other carrier headed east was already over booked. They had at least another few hours before another flight could be arranged. The major looked at his son with impotent frustration to find the other's irritation rapidly fading into calm acceptance.

"I think we should remain awake. Another airline will accept our tickets in the next hour or two," Ethan offered by way of an explanation.

"I would've thought that you'd be more put out than me," the major commented with quiet disappointment.

"They're okay for now. We have to get to them by the day after tomorrow. Her voice is cautioning me to be calm. That we should make it in time as long as we remain alert."

"Sometimes I wish I had something in my head telling me when it's safe and not. It sounds comfortingly convenient."

"Believe me, Father, it isn't. I wouldn't wish this so-called gift on my worst enemy. Your needs rarely come into consideration. It's like being led on a mental leash like a dog going for a walk with no idea which route you're going to take. Half the time you get the information too late to do anything to prevent what the voices are warning."

The major looked up alarmed. Before he could say anything more, Ethan interrupted with, "This time they're giving me a time frame. But you're right; I don't want to take a chance. The only thing I can be certain of is that the Centre will catch them if we don't get there in time. One thing that should make you breathe easier is that my sister also has this 'gift'. The voices will let her know about the danger. She's no more eager about getting caught by the Centre than Jarod."

"She works for them. If she turns Jarod in, then they'll turn a blind eye to her mysterious disappearance. That's not helping me to breathe any easier at all."

"Something's happened to them while they were in the variant time phase. I don't know what it was exactly but it was significant. You take that along with a strong disinterest in helping the man who murdered our mother and you're left with more than sufficient assurance of Jarod's safety. I realize you don't trust her. Try to trust me," Ethan said with finality. He didn't want to see the skepticism in his father's eyes. So, averting his gaze, Ethan walked wearily away and back to his seat to wait._**  
**__  
_

_****__**Sydney's residence  
Blue Cove, DE **_

After a confused Broots left with the psychiatrist; his belly full of a lunch that more than lived up to Sydney's claims, both Jarod and Parker watched the two men pull away in the Town Car with a sigh of relief. The tech genius did a double take when he first spotted the youthful Parker. She still looked a bit different than her adult self but not by much. At first he decided to say nothing, hoping that an explanation would be forthcoming but this unfortunately, left him with wide eyes and a mouth hanging agape. Sydney watched as Broots slowly gathered his wits and failing dramatically in trying not to be so obvious. The idea of Parker's twisted family tree gaining another strange, if not homicidal branch wasn't farfetched. Especially given that Broots himself was involved in helping his boss untangle some of the more bizarre aspects of her twisted family tree.

Sydney wondered if he should just pull the tech to the side and try to explain what he himself was still having difficulty coming to grips with. However, playing host and readying everything for the meal inadvertently distracted him. It was Parker who gave Broots the clue to her true identity. Passing by, she looked up to catch the tech staring at her openly and then belatedly began looking away with theatric obviousness. Parker gave a half chuckle at his clumsy discretion.

"You whip your head around any faster and you'll break it. Lose something?"

_**"**_No, Miss Parker. Oh! Um, I'm..er..sorry. Who?…uh," he stuttered uncertainly. His apology and attempt to correct himself faded on the light swirl of perfume as she breezed past him.

As they began placing the food on the table, Broots finally spoke up. "Ummm, Miss uhh. Sydney why does she look like…you know who? What exactly is going on?"

"Broots sit down, there's something you need to know," Sydney began with a pile of silverware in his hand.

Soto voce, Broots leaned towards Sydney and asked quietly, "Is she a relative of Miss Parker's? You know, a long lost sister or cousin?"

"No Broots. I'm not sure really how to say this," the psychiatrist began with a frown of uncertainty. Jarod helped him.

"Mr. Broots, she is Miss Parker, just as I'm the original Jarod. Relax, enjoy your lunch and we'll explain everything."

Once the explanations were over, Broots stared at the two impossibly youthful faces before him with incredulous wonder. During the lull in conversation, Jarod sat back and watched his former hunters with interest. So much had changed since the last time he had seen them in this time frame. Parker was now his lover, Sydney was possibly involved in another questionable pretender project and Broots with his persistent attraction to his boss was struggling with his feelings over the new and improved version.

Parker suffered Broots' stares with indifferent equanimity—the same indifference that she always felt in dealing with Broots' attraction. Never had either she or Sydney explained that her feelings for the tech ran towards the fraternal rather than hoped for romantic. It was during lunch when she asked the tech a question only she and Sydney would know, that Broots had finally become convinced about her identity. Parker asked with a look of intense curiosity if Broots were still going out with the woman who had all the chins. The surprised look on her friend's face told her a number of things: He was no longer seeing her and embarrassed that he ever had. Her bluntly, sarcastic predictions about the woman's other failings had probably been proven true and that despite everything that she had gone through, her perverse interest in his dating habits persisted. It was then, with the assistance of the merge that she could finally and objectively get a good look at her own flippant cruelty and be heartily ashamed of herself. The computer tech inhaled sharply while his face turned crimson at his friend's casual reference. An uncharacteristic blush pinked her cheeks as she averted her eyes from Broots' or anyone else around the table which caused all the men to look at her curiously. Jarod wondered, Sydney analyzed and Broots was more attracted than ever before. For him, even though he had slow to realize that Miss Parker had been brutally correct, he had taken her advice on how to gracefully exit without hurting Millie-of-the-many-clefts' feelings. Perhaps she could give him some more advice about his current love interest. This one was far more normal than Millie. The only thing different about Alison was a slight limp.

* * *

"I didn't think they would ever leave. I guess Raines is more lenient than my so-called father had ever been," she commented as she began to clear the dishes.

Jarod continued to stare out the window after they had disappeared from sight. Looking out at the empty street all appeared to be quiet. Finally he gave up his cautious vigil to find that Parker had finished clearing the table and started on washing the dishes, much in the same manner as she would if they were back home. Home—that's the way he viewed the variant timeline they had been so viciously pulled from. His gut told him that nothing good would come of their return. It was as though each timeframe held a feel and influence all its own. This one—their original was no exception.

Parker finished the dishes with a sigh of relief. Doing this was her connection to the other timeframe. Jarod, as was his habit, had joined her and they got through the cleanup in record time, putting away all the leftovers and straightening up as well. She leaned forward against the counter staring out of the kitchen window, when Jarod's reflection appeared in the glass. He approached her, wrapped his arms around her small waist and pulled her close. It was clear what they both wanted as she leaned into his body.

"There's a spare bedroom upstairs," he said in invitation.

"Sydney shouldn't be back for another four hours," she responded dreamily.

Upstairs, Jarod heard the water in the shower start up. Before she would allow him to even kiss her she told him she felt unclean after being in Lyle's unkept and unused rooms. She'd mentioned something about feeling dusty and immediately disappeared into the bathroom. Wandering into Sydney's bedroom, Jarod looked around curiously but not invasively. That is until he got into the bathroom. Opening a drawer, he found a colorful box of condoms neatly filed away. Inside, there were a number of empty slots. A short bark of laughter erupted from him, and accompanied with a fond smile, Jarod lifted a couple packages from the box. "He kept them and obviously they've come in handy. Well, old friend I hope you won't mind if I help myself."


	31. Sydney's place

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual protective statements

**_Author's note: _**Wow, I didn't realize it had been so long since I last posted an update to this story. Real life is taking its toll and not giving me much time to have my chapters fully written and beta'd. That last chapter was more of a doozy than I _ever_ imagined! What a nice spectrum of opinion and criticism. Since I have no plans of altering my tale in any way, I hope all those doing the me honor of reading this story are truly enjoying it—it is being written for that purpose only.

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 31 **_

_**By Callisto  
**_

_**Lyle's residence  
**__**Blue Cove, DE**_

Consciousness came to him slowly as he rolled painfully over onto his back,a splitting headache brought his hand over to the main source of his agony. Surprise filled his eyes when he felt a crusting moisture there. In the far background, he could hear pounding going on somewhere, insistent with just a hint of controlled violence. After some deliberation, he got up to find his ribs ached almost as much as his head when it dawned on him—someone had worked him over. Vaguely, the vision of a lithe girl with long, dark hair swam vaguely into his mind. Along with the vision was the memory of his intense hunger and eager anticipation over cornering this tasty catch when suddenly the world went black. It was hard to decide which body part to hold as he rose slowly to his feet. The ribs won, as he crept carefully down the stairs, keyed in the alarm code and let his insistent guests inside.

The minute the door was pulled slightly ajar, the sweepers outside forced it fully open and filed in with purposeful menace. Beautifully suited, each man held a standard Centre issue 9mm Glock in their fists as they began to systematically search the house. It took a few seconds before the sociopath realized there was someone standing obediently next to him. Glancing sideways, he saw the dark- complexioned Willie staring at him with cold, mildly curious eyes.

"I was attacked. Thought there was only one of them, then came to find out there were….three maybe four after they hit me over the head and worked me over," Lyle replied to Willie's tacit question.

The handsome sweeper's expression didn't change. He had heard Lyle's exaggerations before and was neither surprised nor disgusted. The only reason he and his team were there was because the alarm company had routinely informed security who informed the Chairman. Raines in response had dispatched them to find out why Lyle had failed to show up for work. There were Tower meetings that had been missed and a report on their secondary project, as well as the Ethan search that was supposed to be updated but hadn't been due to Lyle's absence.

"The Chairman would like a word, Mr. Lyle."

"I'm sure he would," Lyle bit back with sudden irritation. Exhaling wearily, Lyle stumbled as he turned back towards the stairs. Suddenly the room began to swim and the sociopath swayed shakily as he passed out.

Reluctantly, Willie caught Lyle before he could hit the elegant Italian tiled floor and calling out to his colleagues, he ordered one to help him with Lyle and the other to go upstairs to get the man a shirt. The lead sweeper had his orders, and nothing was going to delay him in acting them out. When the perimeter sweeper approached and gave his report, Willie nodded thoughtfully.

"Stay here and stand watch. I don't want anyone coming in or out. Don't touch anything. A cleaner team will be out to process the house."

"Yes Sir," came the expected reply.

Willie nodded at the sweeper holding Lyle up and signaling another to help with Lyle's dead weight; he called the driver to meet them at the rear of the house. There they would load Mr. Lyle into the back of the car and return to the Centre. The sociopath's comfort wasn't a concern for him as the other two dragged Lyle's limp form between them and towards the waiting Town Car.

_**The Centre  
**__**Blue Cove, DE**_

For the rest of the workday Sydney had to forcefully control his focus but found his thoughts drifting back to his own home where the two time-shifted people waited. What they were doing and who they might be contacting was all a matter of conjecture for him.

Broots had been extremely inquisitive on the short journey back to the Centre. He showed all the signs of a skilled interrogator in that he wouldn't allow Sydney the luxury of avoiding his direct and pointed questions. 'Do you believe what they were saying about time travel? How could it have happened? Who was this scientist who pulled it off and where was he now? Do you think they want to stay or return?' These and a plethora of other questions followed before the psychiatrist had a chance to finish his brief and sketchy answers. Those answers barely satisfied himself—much less the more inquisitive computer genius.

Sydney stayed in his office for the rest of the day, lost in his own thoughts and wondering about the time shift story, its validity and how to reconcile the impossible into the obviously probable. The answers he gave to Broots were thin at best. He would need more time to think this whole thing through and speak in more detail to both fugitives before coming up with an explanation that would make sense to him—instead of relying so heavily on faith.

Broots received an unexpected distraction from his daughter who called to see if her Dad had come up with some advice. However, his rapidly maturing teenager detected something in his tone that worried her. She picked up on the stress in his voice and asked him gently what was wrong. All he could do was smile at her question. Immediately the concern and love in her voice, banished the cobwebs of confusion and disbelief from his mind as he reassured her that everything was all right. With determined motivation he directed Debbie's attention to her role in the upcoming school play and some ideas he had on how she should approach playing the character. He reluctantly dismissed his unspoken idea of asking for Sydney's help as he had originally thought of doing. The psychiatrist had enough on his plate without adding a school play into the mix. Besides, with what the two fugitives had told him, the tech avoided pointing out the obvious. If Raines, Lyle or the Triumvirate ever found out what had truly happened to them, they both would wind up in Africa faster than either could say Mozambique. Broots made a pact with himself never to mention or make reference to Miss Parker or Jarod because the last thing he wanted was another impromptu torture session with that walking corpse, Mr. Cox. That guy was like a mini Raines in-training. His hand tingled unpleasantly at the very thought.

_**Sydney's residence  
**__**Blue Cove, DE**_

The night had turned out to be extremely fascinating for the psychiatrist. Over coffee he heard the details of Jarod and Miss Parker's challenging ordeal. Just as far as the science was concerned, the implications were mind boggling. Jarod had been correct; it was a lot to take in all at once. During Jarod's rather technical explanation, the girl, in typical Parker fashion, got up and quietly left the room. It seemed that a great deal had changed in their relationship while they were in the variant time frame. A curious expression settled in Jarod's face when she left them. Normally, he would've glanced over at her and then continue. This time there was something more—a lot more in his eyes.

Parker had quickly become restless during Jarod's explanation. She hadn't bothered thinking about the details of their strange journey through time. Briefly she wondered if her disinterest in the particulars pointed to a type of shallowness in her own character. Losing her mother had become such a watershed event in her life that it colored everything about her. The shock of seeing and then reconnecting with her mother created a joy in her that forestalled any questions. This was a gift horse she was willing to feed rather than waste time looking in its mouth. It was then the voices made themselves known. They had become far more chatty than she ever remembered. This newest development concerned her but since there was little to nothing she could do about it, she decided to listen. That was like opening the floodgates. Luckily she was already alone in the kitchen when she relaxed her mental control. A blinding headache wrapped itself around her mind like a wet blanket of seaweed in the surf. A long minute passed before she could regain control. Forcing her breathing to even out, she found controlling her body slowly allowed her to reclaim control over her mind. Hands covering her eyes protectively, Parker was aware that an information dump had just occurred. It would take a very careful examination to make sense of it. With that in mind, she moved over to the coffee maker and made a strong batch of her favorite potion.

* * *

It was late in the evening when Jarod and Sydney finally finished discussing the unusual temporal phenomena that shifted their physical ages. Slyly, Sydney offered the couch to Jarod, explaining that he had only one spare bedroom, which should go to Miss Parker. Jarod effortlessly controlled his expression and quickly nodded his agreement with Sydney's arrangements. The psychiatrist wasn't disappointed. Jarod had a way of hiding his most private thoughts when he knew Sydney was prodding. For that fact so did Parker but she had a tendency of slipping up whenever she was emotionally upset, and Sydney knew exactly how to accomplish that to find out what he wanted.

Several hours later, a few hours before dawn, Sydney got his chance. He woke up after a few brief hours of sleep and made his way to the kitchen. There he found Parker sipping from a thick mug as she sat on the table top with her feet in a chair.

Without looking around she said, "I figured you would be up around now. You never got much more sleep than I did when we worked together."

"I had a great deal of guilt weighing heavily on my mind. There's always been so much to atone for, Miss Parker," he replied as he nodded in agreement with her. He was still undecided on which tactic would be best to get a rise out of her. "What are you drinking?"

"Warm milk", she replied. "I have a lot on my mind as well. Sydney, tell me about your newest pretender."

Astonishment widened his eyes as he took the carton of milk from the refrigerator. "I must've said something out of turn, Miss Parker. You know, it's strange speaking to you like this when you look the way you do. The last time I saw you at this age, I recall you quite coolly told me that Centre training had been very instructive," he replied with a light chuckle. "You were very sure of yourself and the Centre." The topic of Master Parker wasn't a conversation he wanted to have with her. The nimble psychiatrist immediately switched from a carefully paced offense to a staunch mentally defensive posture. If memory served, her initial reaction over his involvement with Gemini was less than favorable.

"My so-called-father's lies were still ringing in my ears and I was too intent on gaining his approval and altogether blind to bother with the big picture. Look Sydney, I don't care if you don't want to discuss your new project. I have neither the time nor the patience for polite discretion or careful lies. If I could find this information out on my own or by standing over Broots, then I would. Right now you're my only source. Something's going on—something big and I need to know what Lyle and Raines are up to these days. As you can obviously tell, I've been out of touch," she replied calmly as she turned her youthful face to look at the back of his head. "You needn't worry about me trying to regain my positionat the Centre by disclosing anything you say—I dislikeRaines too intensely to demean myself by running to that ghoulto inform on you. I'm no longer that blind, little girl trying so hard to be like her father." His stubborn silence persisted when it became apparent that he wouldn't discuss the Centre's latest project.

"What I want from you, Freud is to fill in the blanks. These strange voices in my head have already given me the broad strokes. What I'm aware of is that you're heading the project for basically the same reasons you had for Gemini. What's going on? Are they producing a replacement for Jarod?"

After another long moment of hesitation, Sydney slowly nodded and then turned to look at Parker. He seemed incapable of becoming used to her youthful appearance as he sighed softly. "They already have. Master Parker was born with similar genetic markers as Jarod. He's not quite as gifted but so far he's closer than any other child we've tested, save Gemini."

When he noticed the milk began to lightly boil, Sydney removed the pot from the heat and poured the warmed liquid in his mug and leaning against the counter, began sipping. The sensation was instantly soothing.

"It turns out that Mr. Parker had a group of his own geneticists harvest biological samples from other red file children and after some trial and error they were able to develop an embryo using the successful procedures discovered and transferred from the Ellesmere site before it was destroyed. It turns out that Mr. Parker was also very interested in the research. He openly backed Raines' work while secretly bankrolling his own endeavors. Master Parker's inception was the ultimate result of a secondary application to Raines'research. Mr. Cox was brought in to insure the viability of the fetus and to constantly monitor the birthmother, Brigitte, so she would successfully carry the child to term. Cox is now Master Parker's primary physician and Raines has been regulated to the sidelines."

At Parker's surprised expression, Sydney continued, "I was surprised as well. Mr. Parker left specific instructions to the Triumvirate in regards to the child. From what little Broots and I were able to scare up in the research databases, it was your father's intention to have the boy placed in your care but his training was to continue as usual. The idea being that the boy was supposed to be provided a more varied childhood, much like your brother Ethan, in order to produce a more steady and loyal subject.

"As you can imagine, Raines was highly upset at the shutout. I'm sure his spies tell him everything that is going on with the project but the Triumvirate has taken on a more hands-on roll. They've assigned their own special sweepers to guard the boy and no one except me, my assistant and Mr. Cox are allowed near him. Even his nurse is a direct Triumvirate lackey."

"Why not send him to Africa? That way they could keep watch over him without fearing Raines interference," she asked as the voices in her mind readily provided an answer before Sydney had a chance to formulate his own.

"I thought the same thing. Originally I believe they held off on the chance that you would be found and/or familial sentiment would bring you back for the child. Now, I'm not quite sure what the reasoning is except that it might be some sort of test for Raines."

"That and they want you nice and comfy so you can work your influence on my nephew. They want him to have certain moral sensibilities similar to Jarod but when he's the right age, they'll remove him from your influence so they can twist any inborn, natural decency he has against him," she said with quiet sincerity. "Think of him as a more stable Lyle with better eating habits and Ethan's brains."

Sydney stared at her youthful face carefully. Then he decided to say something that he had never hinted at before.

"You mean yourself. Mr. Parker was trying to recreate you and avoid going the route of his brother with a clone. Your mother's undiluted influence washis main obstacle to converting you into the type of red file operative they had in mind."

The psychiatrist looked at the unfocused glare in her eyes and waited for her attention to return. He breathed a sigh of relief when it appeared that she hadn't been paying any attention to what he was saying. He was curious about the apparent maturity of these voices in her mind and the information they supplied. She already knew that Master Parker was indeed related to her. He had to practically twist Broots' arm to search the Centre's research databases to find out if the child was truly Brigitte's. Instead, much to his surprise he found the child was actually related to Miss Parker—he was Lyle's son. When Parker's focus returned, she smiled self-consciously, surprising him. In one fluid hop, she alighted from the table and placed her mug on the countertop.

"Get some sleep, Freud. It's going to be a long day. Don't worry about us, I'll keep Jarod safe and out of their clutches. We'll need to leave soon; later this morning would be best. Thanks for giving us a place to hide out while we got ourselves together."

"So soon? I was hoping to have you both here for a while longer. There are so many questions," he protested insistently.

"They've already found Lyle and are probably questioning him as we speak. I think he got alook at me before Jarod had a chance to cool his ardor. It'll only be a while before Raines realizes that you have some missing time of your own and puts two and two together."

"Oh, I see. What exactly did you and Jarod do to Lyle?" he asked by way of example of the numerous questions he had for both of them.

"He got all excited when he found me there. A live girl actually stumbled into his lair. Jarod had to knock him over the head to calm him down. Apparently his presence was missed at the Centre," she replied dryly.

"I understand. Please keep in touch. I'm very worried about both of you and this strange 'combining' that you've gone through."

"Things are going to get worse before they have a chance to get better and that's _without_ the Centre's influence," she replied cryptically. Smiling weakly, she touched his shoulder and left him alone in the kitchen.

Upstairs in the spare bedroom, the effects of the age inhibitor made itself known again. The voices invaded her psyche and downloaded another large amount of information. This time she found herself shaking and deeply upset. Instead of getting into bed, she went into the adjoining bathroom and emptied her stomach in the toilet. The time-shifted return to her youthful self had automatically taken away the stress-induced ulcer but that didn't prevent her from reacting as she would when she was an adult. The reason for her upset stomach had everything to do with her return trip through the portal and the fears Angelo was unable to verbally express. After splashing cool water on her face and thoroughly rinsing with mouthwash to remove any traces of nauseating bile from her taste buds, she returned to the bedroom to find Jarod standing near the bed. Without saying a word, she looked at the bed and watched as he silently got in and waited for her. Neither spoke as she turned off the light and joined him. Finding his warmth, she stretched her length against him, found her favorite spot on his shoulder, and then pulling his muscular arm around her body, she rolled away from him pulling his arm along with her. He spooned her and rested his hand flat against her stomach. Finally at ease and feeling both loved and protected she relaxed. Within seconds, she shuddered with relief and fell immediately asleep.

Jarod stared at her and realized she wasted no time in getting to sleep. He came up here for a different reason but when he heard sounds of retching coming from her room he instantly became worried. Luckily he was standing in shadow when she came out. Darkness helped conceal his curious mixture of anxiety and desire for her. The bathroom light illuminated her as she stood in the doorway and once again he felt his heart constrict and the strange possessiveness he experienced before wash over him 10 fold. He would do anything to protect her as numerous questions clouded his mind. And when she gratefully snuggled up to his body, his possessiveness abated only partially as she wrapped him around her and fell asleep. He wouldn't allow anyone to harm her, including himself as he softly buried his nose in her fragrant hair. He would make love to her in the morning when she woke up. He had a feeling after this it would be some time before they would have another opportunity to enjoy each other without distractions.


	32. Questions, Mr Lyle

**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual details.  
**Author's note: **A quick thanks for those of you who are still reading and waiting for updates. Here you go….

_**Time to Consider**_

**_Chapter 32  
By Callisto_**

**_Baltimore, MD_**

The plane had touched down with a majestic grace that belied it size as it glided from night into the slowly gathering day. After the tedious wait and disembarking, they were able to rent a car under an alias and set off to find their missing loved ones. The drive was long but it was a relief to finally be nearing their goal. Curious about Miss Parker and eager to find out just how cooperative she might be, the major prompted Ethan into telling him of his relationship with her. Ethan was more than happy to speak ofhis reconnection with his sister. In the telling, his voice, demeanor and expression changed subtly. The major listened and watched as he soon began to understand his son's obsessive need for his sister's return. The warmth and love in Ethan's voice as he spoke of his sister, further humanized her in the major's estimation. The last time he had seen her, she was lying in a pool of her own blood on a Georgia tarmac in the aftermath of an attempted assassination on her malevolent father. If anything was an example of obvious potential being thrown after abjectuselessness, her getting shot instead ofParker was it. Still the major surreptitiously felt the slight bulge in his jacket pocket and was reassured that his 9mm was still there--just in case. Daniel's suggestions on how to get the weapon though airport security without being detected worked like a charm. The major wanted to be armed and ready for any eventuality.

_**Sydney's residence  
****Blue Cove, DE**_

She woke with the first gray smudges of dawn insinuating gracefullythrough the lace curtains. Never tiring of the novelty, she sighed contentedly at her life. For most of her years, Parker was in the habit of waking up alone, with nerves on edge and rarely refreshed. Even when she had company, too often she would dismiss her night's entertainment in order to avoid awkward questions like, why she slept with a gun under her pillow. Hiding the damn thing was inconvenient and deeply ineffectual—as Tommy's death proved.

Since the return of her youthful body, the disturbing trend of waking up at the crack of dawn continued. With having had only a few hours sleep, she felt more rested than if she had, in her middle-aged state, downed her typical dosage of sleeping pills and stiff scotch chaser. Suppressing the urge to release another deep sigh and indulge in a satisfying stretch, Parker laid still. Jarod face was inches from her own, as she relished the soft puffs of his breath as it warmly caressed her cheek.

At first, their physical relationship was so strangelyintense that it became a momentary exploration of her own deepening feelings for the pretender. Now, she could easily face the fact that prior to their current temporal kidnapping, she wanted to spend the rest of her life with him. The voices warned that their return to their original timeline would enforce a twisted version of their oldadvasarial relationship. It wasn't something she wanted, but she was glad for the warning just the same. Every moment she could savor having him next to her, loving and wanting her was like a memory treasure to be kept and taken out when things got particularly bad.

"Know that whatever happens, I'll always be there for you."

"I have a feeling that being dragged back to this time will prove to be far worse than being sucked down that time-shift rabbit hole in the first place."

"Are the voices telling you that or is it your gut talking?" he whispered in a sleep creaky voice.

"Both. Before all this happened, we knew who we were, accepted our pasts and had a good idea about where we would end up. But now, everything's changed. We're different, our lives are different. If I lose you…"she began haltingly, her voice beginning to catch on her emotions.

"Not an option. I need you to remember that."

"You're a part of me. It doesn't matter what might happen, I'll always…"

"Shhh," he soothed quietly as he leaned over in one movement and interrupted her morose thoughts with a soft kiss. Silently, they stared into each other's eyes and in doing so fully expressed what couldn't be said adequately with words. Without any prompting or cues, they slowly began to make love to each other.

**_The Centre  
_**_**Sublevel 15 – Interrogation lab  
****Blue Cove, DE  
**_

For the past 12 hours, Lyle was systematically awoken, given treatment for his various bruises, questioned relentlessly then allowed to lose consciousness again. It was a cycle that left him exhausted and mentally confused. But still he managed to hang on to his fiction of 3 or 4 heavily muscled men attacking him in his own home for the first few hours. Eventually his usual exaggerations and prevarications were lost in a muddle of disorientation and uncertainty. Fatigue and confusion finally took over and his resolve slowly unraveled like a cheap sweater. The story of the housebreaking Asian girl came forth as he recalled how he enjoyed chasing her around the house and then how he savored the delicious taste her dismay when she discovered the doors were securely locked and wouldn't provide an easy escape. When he finally got the upper-hand he remembered getting a better look at her and the sharp disappointment in finding that she didn't appear to be Asian at all. Fuzziness returned when he tried to recall what it was that had rendered him unconscious. He was certain he had been hit in the back of the head just at the point when the girl reluctantly surrendered. For the life of him, he couldn't remember seeing his assailant's face.

Raines watched the entire interrogation impassively. This was his version of a T-board without all the comforting trappings. Lyle was supposedly his son but the Chairman continued in his indifference towards the sociopath. It suited his purposes to pose as Lyle's father but he wouldn't mollycoddle him like Parker did his daughter. As long as the Triumvirate bought into the fairy tale, that's all that mattered to him.

_**Dupont County  
****Delaware**_

A little over 2 hours driving time found the pair finally nearing their destination. Ethan had taken his turn at the wheel and abruptly pulled off the road at a heavily wooded turnout. He stopped the engine and waited. The major looked at his son curiously and was about to ask him the reason for the unexpected pause in their journey but there was something in Ethan's face that precluded questions. An expression of focusedattention came into his eyes and it seemed like the world receded into the background.

Ethan had continued to drive according to the softly insistent advice from this mother's voice. When the voices faded into silence, he knew it was time to pull over, be quiet and wait for the usually painful assault of information to compress itself into his brain. He wasn't disappointed. They were quickly running out of time but he had to meet his sister at a specific point to insure they could get away without anyone from the Centre actually seeing them. Over and over, with a curious litany, the voices chanted that Jarod and his sister were changed—a change that would affect their lives forever. In the near background a secondary chant warned to watch out for the madness. The 'rift-madness' could be tolerated for only a short period of time before they lost all higher cognitive ability. Ethan was unsure what 'rift-madness' actually was but this had to be one of the repercussions of yanking them back through time.

"They're almost out of time. I have an idea of where we're supposed to meet them."

"Meet them? I thought we were going in to try and rescue them?"

"The voices kept saying thatJarod wasat the Centre but neitherwere caught by the Centre. Now they're saying that Jarod got out but is still too close to the Centre along with my sister."

"Do you know where? The last thing we should be doing is prowling around this area. The Centre has eyes and ears everywhere."

"Not exactly. I only have an idea of where they'll turn up. Sometimes I'll get an actual address but not always. I think it's this way because they're on the move, trying to stay a step ahead of anyone who might start searching for them. Waiting here near the highway is going to be our best chance of finding them before the Centre does."

"I'd feel better if we knew exactly where they were and could go and fetch them," the major replied in a dissatisfied voice.

"I wish that too but this is the best that I can do right now. You were right about the Centre having eyes and ears everywhere. If we were spotted, our presence would be reported and too many questions would start being asked."

As a form of punctuation, Ethan started up the truck and headed towards the rendezvous point the voices given him.

_**The Centre  
**__**Sublevel 15 – Interrogation lab  
**__**Blue Cove, DE**_

Raines stared unblinkingly at the unconscious, sweat-soaked sociopath through the two-way mirror. It was a strange story Lyle had offered but the physical evidence seemed to support it. The cleaner team had returned and promptly given him a preliminary report. There was evidence of at least one but possibly more intruders in Lyle's new home. A rush had been put on the DNA analysis of all the evidence retrieved from the home, including a long dark hair that had been retrieved from the dumbwaiter. If the woman had a record, she would live to regret ever burglarizing the home of a Centre executive.

The sound-proof door behind him clicked open, and then was allowed to drift closed by itself while the guest waited patiently for the pneumatic door control to do its job. Raines felt the air stir slightly and a puff of expensive men's cologne waft gently towards him like a calling card telling him the identity of his visitor.

"Thought I would find you here," the darkly pleasant voice commented evenly.

When it became evident that the Chairman chose silence over any reply, the visitor settled quietly next to him. The old silent treatment didn't work on him. He liked it when everything around him was shrouded in deathly silence. The room was dark. The only source of light came via a two-way mirror from the adjoining room where the raccoon-eyed Lyle slept deeply. It had been a long day and night for the progressively disturbed executive.

"What were they able to discover about Lyle's unlikely guests?" Raines asked heavily.

"Unlikely is the word," came the persistently, pleasant reply. "I would've thought that this was a left over from the previous occupants but according to the cleaner who found and retrieved this little gem, it's highly doubtful the maid would've allowed this to hang around for so long."

Raines look down at the thick sheaf of papers being handed to him. He took the folder and allowed it the flop open naturally. The picture that greeted him, made the Chairman pause uncertainly.

"My reaction exactly. I had them check it 3 more times. Seems our Mr. Lyle has had a most interesting visitor but there's a catch to this little twist," Cox paused delicately before resuming. "The reason I had them recheck their findings is because the age the sample suggests. If you don't mind, I would like to ask our cannibalistic friend in there just a couple more questions."

The Chairman's twin laser eyes bored their way into Cox's skull as the physician kept his eyes riveted on the hapless sociopath about to be awakened for the umpteenth time. "There must be some mistake."

"That's what I'm about to find out," Cox replied as he slipped a picture from the thick folder and giving the sociopath a hard, vicious look, he left the observation room and entered the interrogation chamber accompanied by two overly muscled sweepers and a quietly, sadistic-looking physician.

The sounds of flesh being slapped and deep, growling grunts came from the next room. Raines continued to watch dispassionately. Once again, the door behind him whispered open. This time he turned to see the director had entered to join him. Nodding curtly to the Chairman, the Tower executive stared through the two-way mirror at the scene of Mr. Cox circling while two sweepers roughly woke Mr. Lyle.

"You say there were two people who attacked you in your home. Is that right, Mr. Lyle?"

"I keep saying the same thing over and over. It's the truth. I realize it's something you're unfamiliar with but that's the only tune I know. I'm too exhausted to lie."

"You also said that one of your assailants was a woman. Would it be more accurate to say that perhaps she was a _girl_?"

"Whatever. Look, I didn't get a chance to get to the part where I check her ID. Was too busy getting hit over the back of the head," Lyle slurred softly. He was losing consciousness again. Cox glanced over at the doctor who stood observing in a corner. Immediately the doctor snapped to attention, and coming forward, he broke a small plastic vial and waved it under Lyle's nose, waking him instantly.

Cox circled one more time. When the sociopath was roughly sat up in his chair, Cox stood in front of Lyle. Once he was assured the other was at least awake, he held up a picture. "Familiar?"

Lyle, bleary-eyed, squinted at the photo. His eyes widened and he was suddenly fully awake. "Yes, yes. I told you the truth. You had the evidence all along," he said with a touch of anger.

Cox didn't reply but continued to stare at Lyle. If the sociopath hadn't been so exhausted. If he hadn't insisted on the lab rechecking their results. If he didn't have experience in knowing when a person was lying, he would've ordered the sweepers to work over Lyle relentlessly to get at the truth. The problem was that the old Sherlock Holmes saying was true—sometimes the impossible was possible—maybe.

Remembering that he had called for the Director to attend this little questioning, Cox drew his posture straight and took a deep breath. Without looking around he held up the picture to the mirror for the Director's benefit. He didn't need to be in the room to imagine the dark, comely woman's sharp intake of breath.


	33. Emerging effects

**_Disclaimer_**: _Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements._

___**Time to Consider  
Chapter 33**_

___**By Callisto**_

___****__**Sydney's residence  
Blue Cove, DE **_

Despite the early hour when they got ready to leave, Sydney was already up to greet them. The sun was still creeping upwards giving the world its first taste of the new day. Without much conversation, the couple and the psychiatrist drank coffee together and exchanged pleasantries. It was after Parker stood up to wash out her mug, when the men both knew they had run out of time. A focused glare came over her eyes as she stared directly into a sharp blade of sunlight filtering in through the kitchen curtains. There was only one message Jarod could imagine she was getting from the predictive voices in her mind. The hairs on the back of his neck, his own personal warning system that served to keep him free from the Centre's reach, were tingling unpleasantly.

Sydney couldn't help but stare at Parker while she listened to the inherited gift she shared with her pretender half-sibling, Ethan. Her expression eased to a softened concentration. In her youth, she was simply beautiful. Age, anger, disappointment, betrayal and heartache had yet to mar or render incongruously poignant her even features. He couldn't help but get the feeling of a second chance looming just within the edges of her grasp.

Jarod read his mentor's expression and easing out of his chair, walked over to the front room to peer out into the street. There was something of regret and loss in Sydney's face that told Jarod his mentor would miss his former colleague. There was so much to think about and each day he seemed less able to mentally multi-task or more accurately, there were too many things going on in his mind that he found it hard to concentrate on any one thing. For refuge, he chose to focus on a particularly difficult mathematical formula in order to calm his overactive brain.

"Miss Parker? Are you alright?" Sydney asked gently once it seemed as though she had returned to herself.

"Yes, but we must leave now, Sydney," she replied firmly, oblivious to the sorrow in the older man's voice and demeanor. Instead of looking in Sydney's face, she continued at the sink rushing to rinse out Jarod's mug.

"Parker, before you leave there is something I wanted to say," he began quietly.

Surprised by the emotion in Freud's voice, Parker finally turned to look at him. Nonplussed by the raw sentiment brewing in the psychiatrist's face, she paused and became very quiet; wondering what was eating at him.

Forcefully controlling his feelings, Sydney looked at Parker and said in a perfectly modulated voice, "You've been given a rare gift—a chance. To make things right for yourself. To live your life the way you've always been prevented by circumstances, lies and interference from your father. Please, use it to the fullest."

A smart retort to remind the geezer that returning to her original timeline 20 years younger wasn't really much of a chance, quickly evaporated on her lips as a bit of empathy asserted itself. Instead, she nodded silently.

"Parker, I want you to know that I always had your best interest at heart. Many times over the years, I was sorely tempted to violate the trust placed in me by your mother and reveal some of the details you eventually uncovered on your own."

"It's alright, Sydney."

"No. It's not really but there's precious little I can do to change the past now. If you make it back to the other reality, you'll have—both of you—the chance to make the life-changing decisions everyone else snatched from you and the maturity to appreciate them," he said hopefully. He seemed to identify with the chance they had been given, feeling if they succeeded then somehow he would too.

Parker listened to Sydney and was about to reply when the voices began speaking more stridently. Hurriedly looking over at Jarod, who was approaching, she nodded impatiently to him and patting Sydney gently on the arm gave him a gentle smile goodbye and rushed towards the back door.

Jarod paused and embraced his mentor. He would've preferred to stay and broach the subject of what was going on in his head with the psychiatrist, but he agreed with Parker that they had overstayed their welcome—beyond safety measures. "Sydney, I don't know when I'll have the chance to speak with you again…" Jarod began with a small catch in his voice.

"Phone me anytime you wish to talk. Be careful, Jarod. I don't know much about quantum mechanics or the theorems involved in time travel but I can't imagine that you would be able to return to this timeframe while retaining the physical changes from the other. Not without repercussions. If you need anything, please don't hesitate to call me."

"Thank you, Sydney. You've helped us so much already. Take care of yourself."

"I will, Jarod. Bon chance," he replied firmly.

Sitting down at the table once they were gone, Sydney looked over to see that Parker had displayed another uncharacteristic behavior. She had washed out hers and Jarod's mug and instead of placing them on the counter to dry; she returned them to the cupboard. 'Curious,' he thought silently just as a loud, insistent pounding started on his front door.

Parker rushed through the back yard and vaulting over a cinderblock fence with an alacrity that Jarod could only attribute to her Centre training, he followed her effortlessly using a few of his own acquired skills. Halfway preoccupied with surprise over the ease with which he solved a decades old mathematical problem, he was about to rush across the yard when Parker caught his arm and pulled him against the fence along with her. Seconds later the sounds of a car's tires crunching on the gravel behind Sydney's house greeted them as it slowly made its way down the alley. Footsteps were following as well and paused while the person peered through the locked gate. Had she allowed him to sprint the distance to the house, chances were good that he would've been spotted.

Sounds of fists pounding on a nearby door told both that they had barely escaped being caught inside Sydney's house. Once the Town Car and sweeper moved on, Parker pulled a glassy-eyed Jarod by the arm and ran through the yard and out into the adjacent street only to cross between a group of houses and repeat the process. They were 3 streets from Sydney's when she finally began to relax.

"I don't like leaving him like that."

"We didn't have a lot of choices in the matter. With everything that's going on, they won't do anything to him."

"You still have a completely unrealistic view of the Centre. After everything we've been through. Everything they've put you through and still you persist in this idealized view of them," he said with growing disgust. His impatience with Parker's obliviousness stemmed not from her attitude but from the turmoil going on in his mind.

"I can't believe this!" she yelled back. Then looking self-consciously around she lowered her voice. "Sydney's lasted longer than either of us in that place. He's survived purges that claimed my mother, his brother, ruined your family, robbed him of his own family and countless others. He'll survive this as well. That old coot has it all over you when it comes to craftiness."

"He's not the same. I never thought of him getting older but he is. You realize what he was trying to tell you back there? You probably didn't even take a moment to listen to him."

"I heard everything he said. Would you prefer we stayed and got all fat, dumb and maudlin while the Centre hauled the three of us to the Renewal Wing and turn us into walking zombies?" She bit back caustically. "I've seen it happen, it's not a pretty sight."

"Of course not. He was trying to tell you, he was going to miss you. He cares about you."

Parker turned to glare at him incredulously. The distractedly grave look on Jarod's face convinced her that he was serious. Haltingly, she replied, "He was feeling emotional about your leaving and some of that might have splashed onto me. He'll probably shake his head and not give me another thought. One less Centre suit to worry about and get in his way." Then dismissing the entire scene from her mind, she concentrated on the details the voices provided. "We need to go this way. No sweepers."

Jarod stared after her grimly, as she crossed the road. The timeline was already having its effects on her, and with his growing inability to concentrate on one particular thought at a time, it was all he could do to minimize the effects on himself as well. He quickly followed her lead towards the woods and a path that would eventually lead them to an artery of the main highway.

**_Highway 18  
Blue Cove, DE_**

They had been sitting in an uneasy silence for over 20 minutes before the major opened the truck door and got out. Ethan, surprised by his father's impatience, followed his example.

"I don't know how much longer I can stand sitting around waiting for something to happen. Do you realize that we were in such a rush to get out here that we don't even have a scanner?"

"Sorry. The urge to be near them, to be on hand to help overwhelmed me. If you want, you can take the truck and buy some supplies, I'll wait here for them to show up," Ethan offered lamely.

"You mean you're so certain that they're going to pass this way that you'll wait here while I go shopping for equipment?" the major asked incredulously. "Son, with that kind of faith, I think I'll just have to wait with you."

"Then you would've placed your faith in the right person."

Both men turned and looked in the direction of the woods where the unexpected voice came from. Then, slowly a very slim, darkly handsome young man emerged from the bushes at the edge of the forest. His hair was cut very short in a sort of non-style. His eyes were a deep, expressive brown that was emphasized by the dark shirt and tight jeans. His entire outfit was reminiscent of the early '80's. If his twin-like resemblance to Daniel weren't enough, then his unique use of that trademark grin told the two men that their hopes had finally been realized.

Major Charles stared at the young man; almost convincing himself that somehow Daniel had beat them to this spot and was playing some sort of weird joke. Uncertainty clouded his features, while he stared in silence. Ethan was fairly much in the same shape. This was the place where the voices told him to find Jarod and his sister.

"Daniel? What are you doing here?" he asked haltingly.

The young man closed his eyes for a brief moment and sighed deeply. "You have no idea how tired I am of everyone assuming that I'm my own clone. It's me, Jarod."

As if to punctuate his statement and lend credence to it, another figure emerged from the safety of the forest and stood next to Jarod. She glanced uncertainly from the major and allowed her eyes to settle on her younger brother who now looked like he was at least 10 years older than she. Ethan's eyes met the girl's and his mouth slowly opened in astonishment. She was dressed in similar retro-style clothing as the Daniel look-alike. Wearing tight, dark Chemin de Fer pants and matching oversized shirt. The contrasting dark colors complemented her fair complexion and long, waist-length dark hair.

Without saying a word, she walked up to Ethan, tilted her head to one side and with impressive speed, slapped Ethan across the face with some force. The three men were all shocked by what she had done. Unfortunately, she wasn't done with Ethan. She hit him twice again before Jarod snapped out of his own astonishment and pulled her away. All poor Ethan could do was stare at her as the left side of his face turned a deep red. A heavy lump grew in his throat as it became abundantly clear to him who the beautiful young girl was.

Jarod pulled her further away and then stood in front of her holding up his hands. Parker's concentration wasn't to be deterred. "Damn it, Ethan. What the hell did you think you were doing? Who told you we wanted to come back? How about asking us instead of kidnapping us? You had _**no**_ right!"

"Maritza, I'm so sorry. I wasn't thinking clearly. All I could concentrate on was retrieving you from the predicament you stumbled into. You and Jarod rescued me from Mr. Raines' influence; I wanted to do the same--to help. Please," Ethan begged ineffectively.

"My God, Jarod? What the hell has happened?"

"This is going to take some time but from what Parker's been telling me, we need to get on the road now before we start attracting unwanted attention."

"Yes, of course," the major replied in relieved confusion. So these were the changes that they went through. This was going to be some story. Opening the passenger-side door, he beckoned them to climb in as the major ran around the front end and got into the driver's seat, immediately starting the engine.

Jarod moved closer to Parker and placing what he meant to be a calming hand at the middle of her back, it turned out to be more possessive but effectively guided her to the truck. Her face was still pale from anger as she stalked past her still shocked younger brother and into the truck. Jarod followed and sat alongside Parker in the extended back portion of the cab while Ethan brought up the rear and silently slammed the door shut.

_**The Centre  
Chairman Raines' Office  
Blue Cove, DE**_

Trying to get through the routine paperwork, concerns and issues that confronted him on a daily basis was impossible. He had been the lead scientist in charge of research and development for the past 25 years at the Centre. It was hard to believe that someone had hidden a breakthrough as significant as this from him. Another thing that was hard to believe was that Miss Parker had been the subject of any experiments. Not that she wasn't a viable subject—actually she was an excellent specimen. The problem with Miss Parker was her unshakeable morality. Regardless of her father's corrosively neglectful behavior, strenuous programming disguised as Centre training and constant contact with some of the Centre's most corruptively influential executives, this trait seemed more intractable than her ever-present anger. She also had the most irritating habit of mixing her strange brand of morality with her quick mind and sharper wit. Some insisted that morality was a learned behavior that was extremely limiting, he was one of those proponents but on the other hand the very characteristics that made Jarod such an exceptional pretender were his morality issues. Without them, he would be a similar mess to his irretrievably twisted brother Kyle.

Long ago when Miss Parker was still a toddler, he and Mr. Parker enjoyed a heated intellectual debate about morality. As an example, Leith used his daughter. He felt his daughter had an inborn morality that prompted her to call out to him when she spotted the broken ladder rung. With a grim smile, Raines countered the argument stating that Catherine's influence on the girl was the cause. If little Miss Parker had the benefit of his influence, she would've watched solemnly as her father plunged to his death.

Despite his arguments, he too felt that Miss Parker was one of the few people he met that did seem to have an innate, inbred morality. Then why would anyone in their right mind want to clone her? Raines was interrupted in his musings by his secretary who entered with a list of names.

"All these employees were brought to sublevel 15 on your orders, sir," she said obsequiously.

Raines took the list and noticed immediately that while Sydney's name was near the top, Broots' name wasn't on the list at all. Not looking up he said to her, "There has been an omission. Mr. Broots isn't on this list, why?"

Sudden nervousness crept invasively over the woman as she quickly covered and taking a deep breath, replied. "Everyone who had missing time, left early, called in sick, was on vacation or holiday has been either brought back or their movements accounted for all of yesterday. Mr. Broots hasn't any missing time. If memory serves, Mr. Broots took his hour lunch and returned 15 minutes late but he made up for the discrepancy by staying an hour beyond his usual time."

"Have him brought to sublevel 15 when he arrives. Next time, follow my instructions to the letter or I'll have you replaced permanently," the Chairman replied, as he impatiently wheeled his bottled oxygen out of the room.


	34. Seeds of uncertainty

_**Disclaimer: **Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements. _

_**Author's note: **The phonetics placed in this chapter areillustrative of what a particular thick accent sounds like only. --- The legal issue brought up was an interesting factoid I found while researching something completely unrelated. It was included here for added flavor. I don't claim that the legal loophole still exists or ever did in the State of Delaware. It _did_ exist at one time in other states. -- The Portrait of Dorian Grey was written by Oscar Wilde and is a masterful study of corruption and depravation. _

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 34**_

_**By Callisto  
**_

**_Kowaris Cannery—Present  
_**_**Anchorage, AK**_

–_**Family—**_

By the time they arrived in Alaska, Parker had made peace with her humbled and bruised younger brother. Given the severity of her reaction and his older brother's silenceat being brought back, Ethan thought perhaps Jarod was more sympathetic. Jarod curtly informed Ethan that though he did understand, he couldn't help but feel resentment at being what amounted to as kidnapped—_again_. This was something Ethan had neglected to consider and felt even more remorseful guilt than he had previously. Once they entered the Cannery, the major led them through a confusing rim of empty offices and onto the main shop floor. The couple slowly came to a stop as they caught their first look at the machine that had shifted them through time and changed their lives forever. The major called out to his two other children to let them know of their safe return.

Emily appeared suddenly by his side and stared at her father, wondering where he had put Jarod. The question in her eyes was greeted by the confused wonder in her father's face. The major unconsciously ran a nervous hand through his short hair as he tried to sort through his thoughts. It was clear that he was at a loss for words. When Daniel appeared with another young man, all the color drained from Emily's face.

"Hi, Em," Jarod started slowly. At least this time no one would confuse him for his clone. Daniel, now practically his twin, was standing next to his sister with a thoroughly confused look on his face.

Ethan stepped forward and began the explanations. "Everyone, _this_ is Jarod and my sister. To make a long story short, the machine worked. The reason they look like this is because they took an age inhibitor formulated from the frog which caused them to return to the places they used to be the first time they were this age."

The room remained silent as Emily inched forward while carefully studying her older brother's face. Jarod gave her a pained look but tried to smile through it. This was another trademark expression that his clone, Daniel never developed. Emily rushed forward and embraced him. She put one hand on the back of his neck as her other arm gathered what it could of him closer while smiling through her tears. It didn't matter what he looked like, she had been afraid that she might never have the chance to hug him again.

The rest of the family greeted the prodigal in relieved celebration. Parker watched them envelop Jarod into a loving embrace that, for her, was left in the variant timeline. The reality of returning to this timeframe slammed home in her mind. Regardless of Sydney's sentimental tripe, she always knew this timeframe had very little to offer her. Ethan was the only bright spot but even in thishe truly belonged to Jarod's family. Instead of jealousy, Parker felt wholly and completely alone—an unwelcome but completely familiar sensation. Quietly, she slipped past the crowd around Jarod and stared at the machine that had bounced them between two different realities. While studying the area where the event horizon manifests, a heavily accented voice said, "I had no idea that it could transport a human being—much less two of them. Talk about your scientific accidents."

Parker turned to find a good-looking Harry Potter-type standing at her elbow. "Eet was bery esziting brrakethrough. Eye could not belif eet." (It was a very interesting breakthrough. I could not believe it.)

"You must be the mad scientist," she stated quietly. At his nod, she stared at him for several seconds and then returning her gaze to his machine added, "Anyone tell you that you look just like Harry Potter?"

"No. Tha es fantasy. Tees es har zience. Eyem no muhjeshun," he huffed dismissively. (That is fantasy. This is hard science. I'm no magician.) Actually, too many people had made that observation ever since the books firstcame out.

Parker gave a half laugh and looked at the scientist with considerable amusement. "Yup, Harry Potter with a thick Spanish accent. Well, Einstein do you have any ideas on how to get us back?"

Before Norwood could answer, Ethan stepped up and replied solemnly, "His name is Norwood. Norwood this is my sister, Parker. You've barely been back and already you want to leave."

A smart retort was on the tip of her tongue when she recalled some of what the voices had told her back at Sydney's. Ethan's goal was _her_ return. As hard as it was for her to wrap her mind around that tough pearl, her little brother's attitude kept proving the voices correct.

"I have so many questions to ask you. About your experiences, what an alternate timeframe looks like, what was the same and what was different. Also how and why did you design an age inhibitor?" Norwood asked in his heavily accented English.

"Not now, Norwood. She needs some rest and something to eat before you start with all your questions," Ethan said protectively shooting the scientist a dark look. "I made up a room upstairs for you with some of your stuff," he said quietly while pointing indistinctly towards some stairs.

"Thank you, Ethan," she responded gratefully. Looking back at the scientist she murmured softly, "We both have a lot of questions for each other. We'll talk later."

Jarod had been careful to watch everything Parker did. Despite his struggling inability to concentrate on one thing at a time; strong emotions seemed to momentarily neutralize the myriad thoughts and ideas that constantly surged through his brain. A bitter dose of jealousy had no trouble overcoming the pretender's heart as he observed the Latin themed Harry Potter slide up and speak quietly to her. Even after Ethan rescued Parker from the man, his obvious admiration of her came through clearly. Jarod's eyes feverishly watched the scientist and Parker—careful to observe her reactions towards the tall, thin stranger.

Daniel, who was in the middle of trying to recap for Jarod what they had gone through in trying to retrieve them, saw that he had lost his audience. Emily and the major saw the uncharacteristic, angrily possessive look in Jarod's eye and followed his line of sight as the pretender obsessively kept his eyes on Parker. The major surreptitiously touched his daughter's arm. He exchanged a worried glance with his daughter as she tried to regain Jarod's attention.

All Angelo's unspoken worries, the frantic warnings the voices kept giving Ethan, and the predictions those same voices gave Parker were finally becoming apparent in both time travelers. Jarod and Parker's sojourn through time and the adjustments it had been forced to make left a definite imprint on both their minds. Two months later, Norwood and Jarod's family would come to understand the label the voices gave Ethan when they termed the couple's reactions as 'rift-madness'.

_**The Centre – Past  
**__**Blue Cove, DE**_

They entered the monolith structure with an ease that contrasted with its imposing aura. A pair of muscular sweepers led the way with two others bringing up the rear. Trevor Abernathy pled ignorance when it came to the strange terminology the Centre used for its employees. He wasn't sure how much Catherine had told her husband about their escapades in liberating a small, very intelligent boy from this dark place.

Ben was working on a lot of adrenaline, anger and worry. Over two months had passed since they had heard from their children. Because of the two prior kidnapping attempts, Ben was convinced that his brother had stolen his daughter—trying to claim the girl as his own. That was bizarre enough but when Ben told the major that his brother had already stolen his son and refused to return the boy, Trevor felt as though he stepped into a convoluted episode of Jarod's favorite sci-fi show, _The Outer Limits_. His idea was to bust the boy out of this prison and take him as well as their kids. Ben became strangely quiet at the idea and Trevor decided to let it drop. Whatever else was going on had the power to dictate Ben's behavior against his own desires. The chances that Jarod had been caught up in the same net as the girl were practically certain. All he wanted was Jarod's safe return.

After traversing a maze of identical-looking hallways, they entered a beautifully landscaped interior concourse which then led to a spacious mezzanine area. A tall, black linebacker of a man met the two sweepers and smoothly replaced them in leading them to Ben's demented brother. Two large doors were immediately opened to a heavy-handed art deco-styled office and seated behind a massive, self-important desk was its arrogant owner. A large man with thinning, graying hair, thick mustache and cadaverous air stood slowly and grunted a gruff, unappreciative greeting.

"Benjamin, what a surprise, what brings you back?"

"My daughter. I want to know what you've been up to, Leith. Why are you hounding my family? It should be enough for you to have stolen my son," Ben replied with deceptive heat. Deceptive in that it seemed he was only mildly upset. His brother had no idea of the murderous emotions running rampant in Ben's heart.

"Well, nice to see you too, brother," came Leith's disgruntled reply. "Why don't you have a seat so we can have a calm and civil conversation?"

"Can the bullshit, Leith. Talk to me now before I burn every bridge, every favor I still have to get you tossed out of here on your ear."

"I see trying to have a civil dialog with you isn't going to work," Leith Parker blustered ineffectually, trying to buy himself some time. Raines chose to walk in on the meeting unexpectedly. Instead of turning around to leave, he gently closed the door and stood with his back against it as though barring any escape.

"To answer your question, I haven't done anything to _my_ daughter. I was merely trying to get a message to her to contact me. I miss her and wanted to hear her voice. Unfortunately the sweeper sent to carry the message got over-zealous and tried to force her to return home. He's been reprimanded harshly."

"_Your_ daughter? She's Ben's child, why are you so insistent on claming your brother's children as your own?" Trevor asked curiously. He had meant to remain silent but that question had been burning in his mind since Ben partially explained the situation.

"Who the hell are you? What business is any of this to you?" Parker asked brusquely.

Before Trevor could answer, Ben deflected his brother's interest. "He's with me, that's all you need to know. As you can imagine, there're a few details too distasteful to go into."

"'Too distasteful?' First, my brother seduced my wife. Then of course he had to sleep with her. To add insult to injury, he gets her pregnant and then conspires with her to kidnap my children away from me. You see, mystery man, in the state of Delaware, when a woman has a child _in_ wedlock, regardless of who fathered the whelp, it's still considered a product of the marriage. Any children my slut of a wife produced with another man are legally considered _my_ children." Parker's deep voice was rimmed liberally with corruption, greed and disdain.

"You twisted bastard! You know it was your Dorian Grey habits that drove her away from you long before I came into the picture. I handed this place over to you to control, hone and grow. Instead you've allowed it to control and twist you. For the longest, I wondered at the reports I kept getting from my contacts in the Triumvirate. That is until I met Catherine and she told me a part of what was going on here. The grotesque experiments, kidnappings and backroom deals you've always fantasized about are finally a reality. It took everything I had to turn this place around from the cesspool our great-grandfather envisioned into something worth being proud of, now you've taken it a step further than even our ancestors imagined. My daughter, my child isn't going to be a part of this."

"Is that the reason why you've interrupted my day? To spout nothing but maudlin drivel at me? Ben, please what happened to your pride? Or did the bitch bleed every last shred of self-respect out of you before taking you for every cent?"

Ben's face contorted into a mask of unrelenting anger. Using every ounce of self-control to keep from launching himself at his evil brother, Ben took a half step towards his arrogant sibling. Parker, finally registering the impending physical danger his brother represented, shrank back, losing any advantage of arrogant dignity he imagined he possessed.

"If I hear one more filthy word from your mouth about my wife, you'll be taking your meals out of a straw. Answer my questions before I lose all my inhibitions and pound you into the sorry sack of lying dog shit you really are. Where's my little girl? Where have your goons taken her?"

It took a moment for Parker to get past his brother's credible threat to comprehend his question. Unmasked surprise overtook his features; he truly didn't know what Ben was talking about. His bumbling idiot sweepers were incapable of catching a cold much less his daughter.

The look on Parker's face told Ben that once again, Catherine was correct. That fact irked him more than he was willing to acknowledge even to himself. He loved his wife beyond distraction but was angry to the bone for the seeds of uncertainty that she recently sowed in his heart. For the first time in their long marriage, _he_ questioned her fidelity. It was extremely unsettling to have the urge to pause during his brother's angry diatribe against the woman he loved because of those suspicions.

"So, my Angel has finally seen through you and left. Well, rest assured that no, I didn't have anything to do with Angel's disappearance. I'll have my people put the word out and I'm sure she'll turn up in a day or two. For your information—that young woman is _my_ legacy and she damn well will take her place alongside her brother when the time comes for them to take over. After she's settled here at her true home, I'll make sure she contacts you," Parker stated breezily, once again on solid ground and feeling self-assured.

"If you _ever_ put your hands on that girl, I swear by everything within me, I'll break you in half. Count yourself lucky that I don't throttle you where you stand for trying to kidnap her in the first place!" Ben was quickly losing control again. He knew he would have to leave before the temptation of hurting his so-called brother took completely over.

Once again, Parker shrank from the wall of violence that emanated from his brother. The shock of so much adverse emotion coming from Ben prompted Parker to take an embarrassing step backwards to further distance himself from his brother's reach.

"Perhaps it would be less counterproductive if we worked together to retrieve the girl. That way a reasonable compromise could be reached," stated a low voice coming from the door.

Ben continued to stare down his brother before breaking his gaze and turning slightly to get a glance at an Igor-like man guarding the door. Ben's lip curled derisively as he slowly shook his head. Returning his blistering gaze to his sibling, Ben said with utter disgust, "I can't believe we're brothers. For Heaven's sake, look at yourself, Leith. You've convinced yourself that your best shot at a legacy is through my children. How pathetic can you get?" With that he turned to leave and found Raines still standing blocking the door. Ben's eyes narrowed taking in the other man's measure as it became clearly apparent to Raines the wisdom of removing himself before physical damage ensued.

But before Ben was out the door, Raines murmured softly, "The Triumvirate will be most interested in the context of this little visit."

"Be my guest and while you're on the phone, you had better have the want-ads in the other hand. The second they contact me, I'll find out why they chose such a pathetic excuse of a watchdog for my brother."

Patience having run completely thin, neither man waited for their escorts to reappear. Trevor followed Ben through the confusing maze of hallways. They quickly found themselves in the main mezzanine and within sight of the way out. Ben obviously knew his way around the place very well.

"It looks like we've hit another dead end." When it was apparent that Ben was treating his statement as a rhetorical comment, Trevor tried again.

"You used to run this huge corporation on your own?"

"Yes. It's supposed to be a think tank / research facility whose primary goal is to benefit and enrich mankind. Obviously, my brother has other ideas."

"Why don't you take over again? It's obvious that your brother isn't fit for leadership. Hell, he can't control it or use it for what it was intended," Trevor stated—a bit more forcefully than he meant.

"Because my intent was diametrically opposed to its original mandate. The forces that are corrupting and twisting my brother were there when I was in charge. I left because there's something about this place that's corrosive to anyone exposed to it over a length of time and I never found a way to rid the place of what ever it is," Ben replied in a much more controlled tone of voice. Trevor breathed a sigh of relief as they made their way through another maze of hallways and the exit came into view.

After a lengthy pause, Ben slowed his brisk pace and asked quietly, "My brother's a filthy-minded ass but there's something I need to know. It's been bothering me for sometime. Have you had an affair with my wife?"

Trevor felt his stomach constrict at the question. The nasty innuendos and salacious accusations Leith Parker spewed against Catherine had no relation whatsoever with the brief liaison he had with her. Not wanting to confront Ben's pain in this place, Trevor looked at him solemnly and answered evenly, "No offence but after meeting your brother, I wouldn't put it past that creep to monitor every hallway and room around here. Besides, this is the last place I want to discuss anything other than what we came here to find out. Let's get a drink where we can talk in private and both of us can get a few things off our chests."

Ben led the way while Trevor's mind whirled through a number of possible ways to approach telling Ben the truth about what had occurred between Catherine and himself almost eight years ago. If Sydney had been able to analyze Trevor's mental efforts he would've come to understand where Jarod inherited his abilities.


	35. Dear Diary

**Disclaimer:** Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.

**Author's note:** This chapter contains comments from a character's diary. For those of you still reading this story, I hope you'll enjoy this installment.

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 35**_

_**By Callisto  
**_

_**Kowaris Cannery—Present  
Anchorage, AK**_

_**October:**_

_**'**_Two months have passed. It would be a good thing to report that the return of the temporal fugitives has gone smoothly. That is far from the truth. Soon after they were settled in, a devastating argument drove the couple apart like a wedge in the trunk of a tree. It was obvious to me from the beginning that they were lovers, his family found this surprising. It's strange because the girl is very beautiful. I should digress here for a moment and make a note of her appearance. As I've said, she is very beautiful and still a teenager at 18. This is remarkable because according to Ethan she was nearing her 40th birthday when she went through the event horizon. Her height is just under 5'8 and by the looks of her if she weighs over 100lbs I would be surprised. In her thinness there is a grace and a finely tuned musculature. I know this from watching her as she exercised in an unused portion of the cannery. Her hair is long—beyond waist length, dark and thick. To complement her hair, her skin is very fair but she often goes out into the sun which tans her very appealingly. It's her eyes that are the most arresting. They are a rather innocuous gray but piercing and very changeable. That said she is still very different and more difficult than her voice over the radio suggested. She seems to hear the 'voices' that her brother Ethan hears. Like Ethan, she acts on their messages. For example, a couple days ago, she asked me to give her access to the Internet. When I complied, I gave her some privacy but my curiosity about her is relentless. (From purely a scientific point of view!) A couple hours later when she was done, I returned and checked out what my spy program was able to learn from her surfing. She looked at several sites but none of them the typical shopping sites I would've thought a girl like her would visit. While I was in the middle of my prying, she silently returned. I was quick enough not to be caught red-handed when she approached again.

"Mind if I go back on-line? There are a few things I want to purchase," she said with a curious look in her eye. Everyday, she seems more ethereal, like when she looks at me it's as though she can see my thoughts. Apparently, it is when she looks this way that those voices are speaking to her. She proved my suspicions by adding, "You might as well stay and look over my shoulder. That way you'll get a good view of what I'm doing instead of straining your eyes and giving yourself whiplash to see if it's me walking up behind you."

I watched as she ordered all types of un-ladylike items. Knives, rope, dark clothing and a few curious, wicked little discs she called 'shiriken'. Often she referred to a credit card to make her purchases. I noticed in the ordering information she used her brother's alias. Before she was finished, I had to satisfy my curiosity. "Why do you need these?" I asked.

"That's my business, Harry Potter," she answered brusquely. She damn well knows my name is Norwood but I think she calls me this name on purpose to irritate me. It is very effective.

She slides out of my chair and then gives me the coldest smile a pretty girl has ever given me. The angelic girl who first came to this cannery is a great deal different than the woman who is looking at me now—different but the same.

"If you refuse, then I will tell your brother what I've seen," I offer as a type of threat. It's not an empty threat because I've seen Ethan fuss at her. He is truly a brave man for he easily ignores her angry glares, often getting her to capitulate. He is the only one she will allow to talk with her—besides me.

I watch as she stops dead in her tracks and slowly pivots on her left foot. Once again she is giving me a stare that spells death, but I copy Ethan and hold my ground. Her gray eyes impale my spirit and like a soft breeze that ethereal look slips into her face.

Her tone and accent were flawless as she switched languages, from English to Portuguese. Unfortunately, I once told her I was thoroughly fluent in that tongue as well. "I'm planning on returning to the Centre to get my nephew. I doubt they will be very cooperative, so I'm getting prepared. And, if you tell my brother or anyone else what I've just told you, I will…." What she threatened, I am ashamed to say made by throat tighten. I can not bring myself to write it here. Then in a bizarre move she assured me of her threat by stepping up very close to me and staring into my face. Her breath was pleasantly sweet as she looked up into my eyes. Without warning she leaned forward and kissed my mouth; softly and sweetly, until she bit my lip hard. The vixen had excited me very much and it would've been easy to misunderstand her intentions but, as usual, her cruelty had the purpose of intimidation. Damn but it worked! Now there are times when I truly wish that I had lied and left them in the other timeframe.

With her still very close, the warmth of her body radiating onto my chest, I ask another question. "Isn't that very dangerous? Is this something that you've discussed with Jarod?" That was a huge mistake.

Quickly she backs up and gives me a scalded look—both hurt and angry. "I don't need his permission for anything. Genius is too busy with his formulas and whatever to care about me. He doesn't want me" She whispered the last sentence with the voice of another—the young girl who first came here.

I watch her struggle fruitlessly against the effects of the merge. The young girl whose life the ever-present woman took over has been making herself known more and more. The girl wins as she looks at me with apprehensive eyes and then quickly looks away.

Because of the girl or maybe it was boldness, I do a dangerous thing and say to her, "Jarod has a theory about the merge and what is happening to both of you. It's an interesting theory that you should know about. Even with what is going on, his brilliance seems boundless."

"I'm sure the lab-rat was happy to hear that one," the girl responds flatly. I look up into her eyes and see the woman has returned but there are still vestiges of the girl in her manner.

"As brilliant as he is, I believe Jarod is failing to see all the ramifications. You see I've been watching you very closely." At her thoughtful stare I added, "Your beauty only makes it enjoyable. The problem is the merge itself. Just now you were struggling with it; one temporal personality slowly tearing away from the other, painfully by the looks of it. I think there is a type of bridge that completes the merge. Don't ask me how it works, because I don't know."

She was about to interrupt but I hold my hand up and continue. "Let me say this because it will affect you getting to your nephew. As the bridge or connection begins to deteriorate, you will slowly begin to lose cohesion. An internal cohesion that time itself created. Without this, I am afraid you will go mad. I apologize; there is no easy way to say this."

She stares hard at me. For a moment I thought she would laugh in my face, instead she remains still and quiet. I could see in her face that she was listening to something else—probably those strange voices. Her eyes shifted from an engrossed inner focus back to me.

"How long do I have before it happens?" she asked in a hushed voice.

"I'm not sure but I would say not too long. Picking fights with men twice your age and strength won't help matters either," I whisper back.

"How long?" she practically shouts impatiently.

"This is pure conjecture but maybe a month, not much longer than that. Ever since you've been back, the signs of the inter-temporal rift have become more pronounced."

"You're right. The –er, well things have become more than usual. It's weird but it feels natural. Why is that? And why doesn't Jarod show any signs of this rift-madness? Did it have anything to do with the age inhibitor we took?"

The questions came in rapid-fire succession, each equally insistent as the next. Fortunately, I had much the same questions on my mind which prompted my vigilance. Therefore, I was ready with answers for her.

"I'm not quite sure what you mean by "more" but anyway, Jarod is showing signs—though in his case it seems to manifest in him a little differently than it is in you. As for the age inhibitor, it merely reminds us that you have changed, nothing more."

"How can you be so sure?"

"The frog tells me this. You said when you appeared in the variant reality that the frog was intact and acting normally. No jitters, spasms or anything out of the ordinary. Also when you went through the first time, you experienced nothing more strange than feeling the first effects of the merge by having incongruous memories. The compound I injected into the frog was specially formulated for temporal travel. Jarod didn't really alter it too much by making it effective for humans."

"So we're pretty much like the frog, unchanged from the variant reality," she concluded.

"Yes. Umm, I take it that you haven't seen Jarod recently. Not since your row?"

"No. Why?" she asked with narrowed eyes.

"Because his appearance has changed a great deal since you came here. Not only his appearance but just about everything about him."

"You're only saying that because the insane genius is so jealous of you," she dismisses half-blithely.

"According to his family, this spate of jealousy is very unlike him. Also being so unkept and focused on the secret formulas he has been making is equally unusual."

"I never knew the mad-monkey genius personally. This is the first time we've ever been close since we were kids. There weren't too many other people around except for Angelo but I would have to agree that his jealousy did catch me off guard."

"It is so bad that I'm unable to observe him as often as I have you. In addition to his strange hatred of me, he is…umm there was a word that Daniel used." Norwood was searching his mind for the right word.

"I believe the word you're looking for is 'obsessed'. I know because Ethan mentioned something to me about Jarod's behavior. I'm sure it's nothing more than a passing phase."

"Normally I would agree because you know Jarod so much better but the looks on his father and sister's face tell me otherwise. Once, when they forced him out to bathe, I sneaked into his study room and found writing all over the place. He has chalkboards and bulletin boards all over the room and some lying on the floor and some on the ceiling. Each is covered with highly complex computations. Now you say, 'for a genius—what else would you expect?' The scary thing about these formulas and equations is that they are completed. I'm talking about a type of math that lay people barely knows exists. Quantum theory seems for him to be no more difficult than finding percentages for others."

"What's the purpose for all the formulas?"

"I do not know. By the time I found one of interest, I could hear them returning and quickly left before he saw me."

"I'll have to move up my timetable for retrieving my nephew. I'll see you later," she said as she quickly ran upstairs to her room.

She had been gone no more than a minute when I heard a faint noise behind me. Luckily, I did hear the sound or else he would've gotten a solid hit. Since my harrowing days as a scrawny kid growing up in Buenos Aires' expensive private schools for the wealthy, I developed a sort of warning antenna for others sneaking up to beat me senseless. Several terrible beatings at the hands of what my mother optimistically kept calling my school 'friends' taught me this facility.

Out of the blue, Jarod walked up and threw a wild punch at me. Weakened by having so little to eat and what appeared to be no sleep for several days also slowed his usual agile reflexes. Therefore the blow only grazed my left shoulder, but it still hurt like the devil. Not wishing to be party to any accurate punches, I did what any good, scrawny scientist, who has the misfortune of looking like a character out of a children's book, would do—I ran like there was a fire in my shoes.

Quick thinking has never been a problem for me, so when I spotted Major Charles coming in from grocery shopping, I headed straight for him and deftly ran past him then doubled back. Jarod apparently anticipated me and caught me on the other side of his father before the other could act. My frantic twisting and screaming brought the others to my aid before the genius could give me a proper thrashing. The major took hold of one arm, while Daniel took hold of his other and literally pulled determined maniac off of me.

"Jarod, calm down—stop it!" the major commanded his son sternly. Jarod thoroughly ignored him and kept trying to come after me.

"Norwood, are you alright? Why did he attack you?" Emily asked in the kindest of tones.

"I've been worse, believe me. I did nothing to him. I had been speaking calmly to Miss Parker when he came out of no where. There was no provocation."

"You little liar! I saw you kissing her!" the man was incensed beyond reasoning. It seemed the very thought of the girl kissing me riled him even further. And who is he calling little? He's not much bigger than me!

My face must've turned red at the accusation because of the disappointed and knowing look that came over Emily's face. Stammering, I tried to acquit myself. It is her whom I like, not the wily, troubled girl, Parker.

"Parker threatened me when I tried to get her to tell me something. Then to show me she meant business, she walked up to me and kissed me!" I said truthfully. It was only when the words were out of my mouth that I could hear how thin and pathetic they sounded.

The incredulous look in Emily's beautiful eyes told me that she didn't fully believe me. I looked over to Daniel for support but even he had a half smile on his face. This is one of the many repercussions of being threatened by Parker. She does it so effectively that no one believes you in the end.

Without responding, Ethan went directly upstairs and met his sister who had just exited her room. The little vixen was unaware of the chaos she had left in her wake. A quiet exchange occurred between the siblings as the major placed a calm hand on his oldest son's chest and began to reason with him. Ethan walked his vixen sister over to our sad tableau but she refused to stop until Ethan angrily called after her. Stopping short, Parker turned around and looked at us but her eyes denied Jarod any acknowledgement.

"Please, Parker tell them what happened. Jarod wants to kill me because of your threat," this came out too much like begging, I'm ashamed to say.

"Alright! Yes, I kissed Norwood because he was annoying me and I wanted to make sure I had his attention," she responded haltingly. In her face I could see the breakdown of the merge once again come into play. The adult version would never have admitted to what she had done. "Someone remind Rain Man that we broke up a couple months ago and this jealousy thing is just one big turnoff." She turned and slowly headed towards the exit.

"See, I told you. What I said was the truth," I spoke only to Emily. It was only her opinion that I cared about.

"What did you do that annoyed her so much?" Emily asked calmly. She was a bit older than me but she was smart and compassionate—exactly the type of woman I've always wanted. However, Parker's threat was still ringing in my ears and checking on her progress out of the building, I could see the she was still within earshot as her gait slowed to hear my answer. There was still so much data to be collected and Parker was fast becoming my only half-cooperative subject. All I could do in answer was to swallow nervously and look down at the ground. Science had never exacted such a heavy toll on me before.

"Jarod, this insane jealousy is eating you alive. My sister isn't interested in Norwood—or anyone else for that matter. Come on, let's go back to your room so you can cool off. Norwood, you should probably leave," Ethan said with weary resignation.

I watched as they slowly led Jarod back to his crowded study room. Briefly my heart calmed a bit as I felt Emily softly touch my arm in acknowledgment to the wrong her brother had visited upon me.

"Ethan's right, why don't you take a break from your research and get some fresh air. It's a beautiful day outside," she said firmly. With a parting smile, she left me standing there.

I rushed out of the cannery hoping to possibly catch up with Parker to see where she was going. Sometimes it's like I never learn. I came flying out of the door and looked both ways until a voice made me turn around.

"I need an escort and you're just what the doctor ordered. They're a few things I have to pick up that I can't buy on the Internet," Parker commented with knowing sarcasm.

"How did you know I would follow? You even knew where to wait." I asked, completely perplexed.

"Doesn't matter. I have some errands to run and not all of them in the best neighborhoods," she answered as she pushed away from the wall and started walking down the street.

I fell into step with her whiletrying to get a more definitive answer out of her. Those voices were strange and seemed to be able to tell her all sorts of things. In the middle of my fruitless interrogation, Parker suddenly stopped and stared into the picture window of a shop.

"Why are we stopping here? What could you possibly need here?" I asked peering through the window of a neat and pristine hair salon. It seemed no matter what I did, I unintentionally kept paying her complements.

"I have an idea…"

I followed her inside and blanched as she gave the stylist specific instructions on what she wanted done. The black-hearted vixen slid into the chair and waited patiently for the woman to do as she was asked.

"No! You will not do this! I absolutely forbid it!" I was at the end of my rope. Instead of screaming at me, the little tyrant gave me a toothy, almost friendly grin and settled herself more comfortably in the seat. A change in tactics would be necessary. "Please, don't do this," I begged while swallowing my pride. She had that ethereally stubborn look on her face that said she wouldn't consider my request. "If you do, you know Jarod and his whole family will blame me for this butchery!"

"Well, kiddo what will it be?" the stylist asked as she draped a long plastic smock around the vixen's shoulders. "This poor guy looks like he's going to have a heart attack." At Parker's dismissive shrug, the woman looked at me and tried to console me. "Don't worry. I'll make her look wonderful."

I felt horrible. I couldn't leave and I couldn't look. I sat heavily in a guest chair and leaned forward with my hands covering my face. "I'm a scientist. All I really want from you is to observe and learn. You're both intelligent and articulate and able to give me the data I seek. I mean you absolutely no harm but it seems at every turn you purposely delight in sticking knives in me. Your man doesn't accept that you no longer love him and he's too sick and distracted to understand how deeply he's hurt you. Please don't take this out on me."

There was a period of silence, then the sound of scissors cutting hair greedily started in earnest. Fortunately, my agony was over in about 15 minutes when I felt someone impatiently tap my shoulder and demand $40 from me. On top of doing something I was heartily opposed to, she wanted me to pay for it. Knowing if I refused she would no longer allow me to continue to observe the breakdown of the merge in her, I handed over the bills, still refusing to look up at her.

The door to the shop slammed and everything went quiet. I thought perhaps that she had left me in all my total misery.

"You can look up now," the beautician said sympathetically. "She's waiting for you outside. I do good work. It's not half as bad as you think. I believe she took pity on you. She's really a cute kid."

"That's no kid, she's a full grown woman with a heart of stone," I said bitterly.

The beautician laughed heartily and carefully gathered the long tresses she clipped from Parker. I watched for few seconds more, then went outside to see what the woman was laughing about. When I saw Parker, I almost fainted in relief. She had originally asked the woman to cut her hair close to the nape of her neck, in a boy's style. Instead, her hair had been shorn but only to the tops of her shoulder blades. It was a major concession and one that made me feel ashamed of thinking so meanly of her.

Parker smirked and dragged me around town on an odyssey that was both fascinating and at times frightening. In addition to her very unusual purchases, she brought a few odd items that were more like presents. She did this after a very long moment of consulting with what had to be those voices in her mind, which in turn made me ask a litany of questions. Staring out of the window, she replied quietly that they were presents for people she would probably never see again. Her statement was made with dry eyes but her expression and the way she clutched those presents was extremely sad. I was infected by her low mood, so I immediately changed the subject, which made her roll her eyes and exercise a great deal of patience. It made me very happy that I gave her the money, though it was on our way back to the cannery when she advised that the woman paid her for the hair and the money from me was for the long cab ride home.'


	36. Horatio The linchpin

**Disclaimer**: Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements.  
**Author's note**: Real life is really being a bear—I apologize for the lengthy wait for this installment.

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 36**_

_**By Callisto  
**_

_**Kowaris Cannery—Present  
**__**Anchorage, AK **_

Norwood barely had time to burst through the front door in search of the forbidden Parker when Jarod calmed down and bowed his head. What he was feeling had been strangely amplified. Acting out uncontrollably on those feelings filled him with shame. The childishness of his other self was humbling but he was momentarily powerless to control the pure, concentrated and wholly unjustified anger. Surrounded by the palpable concern radiating from his family, he was heartened into being more communicative. At least the release of his built up anger helped to temporarily block the constant buzzing static from his brain giving him a measure of relief.

"I never knew that I could behave like that, much less act onit. All Sydney's training and the restrictions imposed by the Centre must have suppressed those emotions in favor of my desire for freedom and an identity. That's all I can offer by way of an apology," he stated solemnly.

"From the embarrassed look on Norwood's face, I think Miss Parker must have done it on purpose to get a rise out of you," the major replied with a touch of anger.

"Dad, not everything going on here is her fault. Though I wish I were here to see her kiss him. The look on his face would've been precious," Daniel said with a smile for his sister.

"She bit Norwood more than kissed him," Jarod replied. "It was a counter-threat to his original blackmail. He saw her doing something on the Internet and told her that he would inform Ethan if she didn't tell him what she was planning."

"You were listening in? Why did you wait to attack him?" Ethan asked in confusion. Norwood's Internet connected computer was downstairs and his sister was coming _out_ of her upstairs bedroom when Jarod attacked Norwood.

"I don't have much control over the stronger emotions, but I do have some. I felt myself losing control so I stepped away from the door for a minute to compose myself. I was on the brink of coming out when I heard Norwood explain his own theory about what was happening to us," Jarod answered. "Norwood believes that the merge involves a connection of some type between the different versions of us. It's this connection that's deteriorating and making us act this way."

"You sound like you only partially agree with his theory," Emily prodded gently. This was the most communicative Jarod had been since the first few days after he arrived.

"I'm not too sure about there being a bridge between the versions but what I am sure of is that the merge is deteriorating. It only makes sense because we returned to a time when the merge never existed."

"The merge didn't exist in the other reality either," she pointed out quickly.

"No, but when we arrived in the variant reality, Time was forced to compensate and create a merge between our different versions. When we imposed ourselves in a time when our younger selves existed, it only made sense that something new would be created; a melding of two different versions of the same people. I believe the problem here is that there's no reverse in time travel. Returning means everything is supposed to revert to its original design—rendering the merge null and void. The dilemma is that our younger versions have no where to go. Our different versions are slowly stripping away from each other causing chaos. Norwood is correct that the result will be madness."

"Why are you practically housebound while Parker is able to run all over town without all the handicaps you have? Is there something she's doing that somehow is retarding the effects?" the major asked in frustration.

"No. My sister is suffering from some pretty intense symptoms, the breakdown of the merge is only affecting her differently than Jarod," Ethan answered quickly. He was fast becoming tired of defending his sister who was going through the same thing as Jarod. As each day passed he was more heartily sorry that he had tricked them into returning. Now it looked like he had sacrificed their very sanity to assuage his pervasive loneliness. It was an exchange that he would've gladly reversed if it were in his power.

"Ethan's right. I saw her struggling with the younger version of herself. Her older self would've been far more confrontational than she is now. I know how to get to the when of returning us, but I can't," he said incompletely. Abruptly switching topics of conversation in response to a wholely internal dialog had become a recent habit with him. The ever-present static in his mind was starting to return with the confluence of thoughts crowding into his racing mind.

"You know _when_ to return? Why can't you and are you sure it will solve this problem?" the major asked gently. He could see in Jarod's face that he was beginning once again to struggle with the effects of the merge.

"Returning to the time void we created in coming back to our original timeframe should stabilize the merge. Time travel is strictly a one-way ticket—even if you do go to a place in time when you don't exist. There's no way of knowing for sure if and how Time compensated for your journey but it's a safe bet to assume something was done to compensate for whatever shouldn't be happening. Just the act of showing up in a variant timeframe means that there's been some type of compensation or you ended up changing something. We were there so long, I'm sure we must have changed the way events were supposed to evolvein that reality. Our absence is further exacerbating the situation."

"Jarod can you explain what it is you're going though? Perhaps there's a way we can help. And these formulas, what are they for?" Daniel asked.

"Most of them were intellectual puzzles I used to calm my mind when things got bad at the Centre. I've solved them—they're of no more use to me now. Each day I'm becoming more like two Jarod's, not the one. All the intellect that I had is now doubled."

"What! Of course, with the merge you had twice the intellect you originally had—that I have. Now with the breakdown, it must be acting like a large magnifying glass, intensifying your natural talent. No wonder you're able to come up with all these solutions. Sorry to say, you're the only one who truly understands them."

"The merge almost completely integrated the two versions. My intellect didn't necessarily double but it was enhanced. With the breakdown of the merge everything is doubling, including some of my weaknesses. The same is happening with your sister; she heard the voices clearly and effortlessly in the variant. She knew you would do this but what confuses me is why she didn't warn me?"

"The voices sometimes have their own agenda—they don't always tell you the whole story or the story you want to hear. They probably warned her obliquely and in response, she had you make the age inhibitor as a sort of alert to us when you came back. A reminder that you have to return in order to retain your sanity," Ethan replied sadly.

"It's not your fault. You had no way of knowing this would happen. You wanted your sister back, I can understand that. I felt the same way about Emily," Jarod smiled weakly at his half-brother. He remembered how the much the youthful Ethan had a tendency to cling to Parker in the variant timeframe, even with his mother right there with them.

"Without the frog, all the formulas in the world won't get you back to the exact variant where you came from," Daniel stated with grown trepidation.

"What if we were able to transport you to another variant? What would happen then?" Emily asked, knowing she was grasping at straws.

"We would pick up another version of ourselves. Time would be forced to stabilize us once again but we would be living with 3 variations of ourselves. If that didn't drive us crazy, I don't know what would," Jarod said with mild amusement. Emily's suggestion had occurred to him soon after their return.

"Norwood and I are monitoring the radio frequencies just in case Ethan as a boy turns it on for some reason. We're hoping the voices in his head will encourage him so perhaps we can get him to activate the transponder. It's a long shot but so far that's all we have," Daniel said with faint hope.

"I've written out a few things that I'll need you guys to do when I'm no longer able to make any sense. Norwood seems to believe that we have a little less than a month before the madness sets in. If we're unable to get back before then, I'm not sure if a return trip would do us any good." Looking around at 4 out of the 6 people that meant the most to him, Jarod committed their faces to memory. He wasn't sure how much longer he would be sensible to their love. Perhaps, would get his wish and have him back at the Centre safe and sound once and for all.

"Don't give up, Jarod. We've missed something. There's something we're overlooking. I'll do everything in my power to figure it out. The voices keep saying that my sister is the key but I've questioned her several times and she doesn't seem to know anything. I won't stop trying," Ethan vowed.

* * *

A few hours later, Parker and Norwood returned with their purchases. At Norwood's sudden nervousness, she ordered the handsomely scrawny scientist to remain behind her until they passed Jarod's rooms. So far he hadn't attacked Norwood when she was around to witness it. Probably because he knew she would kick his ass if he tried it. Returning downstairs because the lion-hearted Norwood was still worried that Jarod had possibly spotted them going upstairs together, the two shoppers looked around and spotted the entire family inside Jarod's personal lair. A sharp pain of loss pierced her heart but set her jaw. She shrugged at Norwood, then turned to go back up to her room when he stopped her.

"Please, don't you think it's about time you stopped avoiding him? He is the only person in this or any timeframe who knows exactly what you're going through. I have only a few answers, Jarod probably has this all figured out. If not for yourself, than do it for me because this curiosity is killing me," Norwood asked with a strange mixture of charming self-interest.

"And you want me to go in there as your bodyguard?"

"Your perception does you credit. I truly admire your man. His genius seems limitless."

"Alright, under one condition," she replied testily moving slowly towards Jarod's rooms.

"Name it! Anything," Norwood said eagerly.

"Stop calling him _my_ man. He doesn't belong to me," she said firmly.

Norwood watched as the complex woman he was learning to admire as much as her genius man walked resolutely to Jarod's door, pause, then pull it open wide and enter. Quickly slipping into the room behind her, Norwood was almost treading on her heels as every eye in the room turned to greet them.

Still avoiding looking directly at Jarod, Parker announced unceremoniously, "Norwood wanted to speak to Jarod. I'm only here as his bodyguard." With a closed expression she averted her gaze and crossed her arms protectively over her chest.

"Wow. I haven't had a chance to look at you for sometime. You've changed," Norwood said quietly to Jarod.

"Kinda hard to notice anything when you're running as fast as humanly possible," Parker replied saucily.

It was all Emily could do to suppress a chuckle at Parker's retort. It was said with a straight face and topped with dripping sarcasm. Sliding a glance at Daniel, she noticed that she wasn't the only one appreciating Parker's acerbic wit.

Frowning at Parker's comment, Norwood sighed audibly and continued, "Has Daniel told you of our hope that someone in the variant will perhaps turn on the radio again? We've checked several times and it seems that someone must have turned it off when they went to check on you, perhaps they will switch it back on again."

"And then probably change the channel. I doubt it. Dad was visiting when we disappeared. Chances are that Catherine drove him to our apartment and turned it off when they discovered us missing," Jarod stated quickly. He seemed incapable of tearing his eyes off Parker.

"Aren't you two a little young to be living together?" Emily asked amusedly.

"I'm still 10 years older than you, so no more comments." Jarod shot back with a smile. "We didn't give our parents much of a choice. After all, they're our ages and found it difficult to get around the logic."

Without looking at him, Parker quickly contradicted Jarod's assumptions. "I doubt it was my mother driving. The last thing she would want is to be cooped up in a car for half an hour with _your_ father."

"Did something happen between them?" Daniel asked curiously.

"Why? I've noticed that they don't seem to be able to stand each other," Jarod asked, over-riding his clone. His emotional control was slowly slipping away but having her there seemed to calm his churning brain.

Looking at Daniel, she curled her lip and answered both of them. It hardly mattered since they would be stuck in the hell of their existence until the end of their days. Her mother's secret would never be revealed. Besides, she was suddenly sick and tired of all her mother's secrets. The woman had more than the average person could shake a stick at. Missing her all over again caused yet another radiating ache to spread throughout Parker's body.

"They slept together once. Call it my mother's moment of weakness and your father's temporary absence of sense. Anyway, that's how little Ethan came to be in the other timeline."

"You're lying! My father would _never_ look at another woman much less impregnate her," Jarod replied heatedly. His grip on the emotions churning in his chest was slowly fading.

Finally Parker looked at Jarod and was unaffectedly shocked. He was thinner, gaunt almost. His hair had grown longer and the lower half of his face was covered in a mat of beard and mustache. Every article of clothing was severely rumpled cloaking him in an aura of a mad scientist. She blanched at his appearance but remained mute.

"What are you looking at? You finally decide to spare me a glance and have the gall to disapprove? Look at you! What in the hell did you do to your hair!" he shouted.

"I cut it but at least I don't look like some homeless bum. What happened? Did they take your razor away, just in case? Bet you didn't even brush your teeth," she jabbed cattily.

"Why did you cut it? Just to get at me?" he asked indignantly. In a quieter voice he said sadly, "I loved the way your hair flowed down your back."

"I'm not lying. Ever wonder why Ethan looks exactly the same there as he does here, Genius? In the variant, my mother didn't hang around long enough for Raines and company to impregnate her with your father's sperm—he did that himself."

"Why would I do that?" the major asked her in astonishment. "I'm still married to your mother in the other timeline, right?" he asked turning to Jarod.

"You had helped my mother rescue a little boy named Timmy from the Centre. That's why the pretender project never got off the ground in the variant. You were hiding out with her waiting for things to calm down a bit before going home. She became hysterical once it dawned on her that her ex-husband actually tried to kill her. You were trying to comfort her and one thing led to another." At the major's struggling disbelief, Parker continued in a gentler tone. "She never told you that she had gotten pregnant. For that matter, she didn't tell anyone but me about it. And that was because I had already figured it out."

"I look at this boy and don't guess that he's my son?"

"I don't know. You and my mother tend to avoid each other. My father thinks that he's his son and is raising him. There isn't any reason to screw up your family just because you went a little too far in trying to comfort her. In the other time, Ethan belongs with us."

"A year ago, I was trying to tell you that but you wouldn't listen," Ethan said quietly.

"Here, you belong with them. You didn't and don't understand. In this timeframe whether I'm 40 or 18, I'm at the end of the road. Jarod and I were only staving off the inevitable by globe trotting. Raines and I have a long standing date this timeframe hasn't forgotten about. When we finally dance, I'm taking that bastard out with me."

"What are you talking about? What was it that Norwood caught you doing on the Internet?" Jarod interrupted. He was afraid she would do something reckless.

"Oh, what do you care brain-boy? You have your formulas to comfort you. I'm tired of this. You're on your own, Harry."

"Wait a second. I'm not done with you!" Jarod practically growled. His grip on emotional control slipped completely but he quickly regained the upper hand.

"We're done, period. Tomorrow I'm out of here," she turned in hurt anger. Her face went suddenly pale as sweat broke out along her brow. A painful expression took hold as she brought her hand up to her face, partially concealing the distended veins in her face—all evidence of her struggle with the merge. In a few seconds, the major's disbelief in Parker's suffering was quickly reversed. It took everything she had to pull herself together. Norwood was right; this minor confrontation weakened her ability to retain cohesion. The uncertainty and hesitation that she thought had been conquered in childhood continued to eat at her resolve. If she were to kill Raines, it would have to be as an assassination, where any physical clash could be avoided so she could obtain her goal. And it would have to be soon before she was no longer able to control her younger self. Jarod saw this and mistakenly relaxed his control in dismay for another few seconds—long enough for his emotions to get the best of him.

"If it weren't for you, the frog would be alive and of some use to us! Now we're stuck here to go mad or indulge in some suicide mission!"

"What are talking about? How did Horatio die?" she asked in sudden sympathy.

"You care more about that damn frog than you do _me_! Incredible, how did I ever imagine…"

"Me!" she interrupted explosively. "_You're_ the one who locks himself upwith nothing but stupid formulas, never eating and feeling so sorry for himself. At least I'm doing something constructive with the time that's left to me."

"By killing Raines? Yeah, that's very constructive. Too bad you couldn't keep Horatio alive."

"I didn't kill Horatio!"

"Who's Horatio?" Norwood asked confused.

Ignoring the scientist, Jarod continued, "You leftit himLyle's house instead of our apartment. Why did you have to bring it with us?" he asked miserably, knowing full well that his charges were unfair but unable to stop himself before the words escaped his lips. Nothing but ifs occupied his mind.

"Horatio is in my old house? He jumped from my hands just before the light blinded me. I thought he hopped free of the beam," she said totally confused.

Everyone in the room caught their breath at her words. Parker once again was preoccupied with regaining control when she looked up seconds later; everyone was staring at her expectantly.

"Parker, you left the frog in the variant time frame? Are you sure it's still there?" Ethan asked anxiously.

"The last time I saw it. I remember the noise and then it jumped from my hands and hopped to the other side of the room just when the light blinded me. I don't remember seeing it when I woke up in my old room."

Jarod stared at her for several seconds before sitting down again and began to silently cry in relief. All he could think about was that Ethan had been right; the answer to their problem came from her. He thanked everything spiritual for his unfair accusation—otherwise they would've continued to assume that the frog came through the event horizon.

No one explained the assumption, as Norwood raced Daniel back to the machine's controller. They had left the computer scanning for the radio frequency, instead of the transponder signal the frog carried. If the amphibian was still inside the apartment—even dead, it would continue to transmit. That is as long as young Ethan didn't bury the thing.

"Why? What difference does it make?" she asked to everyone and no one in particular.

"It means, Miss Parker, that once again we underestimated you. For my part in that, I heartily apologize. Please tell Catherine hello for me. I would never intentionally harm her for anything in the world," the major stated with quiet sincerity.

"How can I tell her if we can't get back?" she asked uncertainly.

"With the frog still in the variant timeframe, it's acting like a beacon in an endless sea of variant timelines. It'll guide you back to where you were. The only problem now is for you to come up with a plausible reason behind your lengthy absence," he said sadly. Once again he would lose his son, this time for good. A few minutes ago Jarod's life and sanity hung in a doubtful balance. Now he was positive that his son was lost to him for good. Hanging onto Jarod in this timeframe and in his current condition would be criminal.


	37. Preparations

**Disclaimer:** Please see Chapter 1 for the usual statements  
**Author's note:** Sorry for the long delay in posting this. My schedule is #$.

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 37**_

_**By Callisto  
**_

__

_**The Centre  
**__**Blue Cove, DE  
**_

A deep sigh, a sip of hot tea and a steadying lean back in his comfortable office chair all helped to calm both mind and body. It was incredible that they assumed Miss Parker had been cloned. However, knowing the truth as he did, reality was far more bizarre than their assumptions. Fortunately, they hadn't any evidence of Jarod's presence in Lyle's house. Only the suspicion of someone else being involved in Parker's escape existed. He couldn't help but laugh in their collective faces when it was suggested that he had been the one who somehow found a way into the Parker's backyard, broke a window pane then crawled through in time to hit Lyle over the head before sociopath had time to commit a most unspeakable crime against his own twin. Sydney mused for several minutes wondering how Lyle was dealing with that fact. Perhaps they were keeping that little gem from him as they had the fact that Master Parker was his son. What Lyle's reaction would be in finding out the boy was his wouldn't be a sight he would like to be around to witness.

Broots had been dragged into the T-board interrogation waiting room the minute he arrived at work. Sydney was able to catch a glimpse of the tech's face pressed against the small window in the door, as he was being escorted outside. A brief smile and quick lift of his brows told Broots what he needed to know. The truth was too fantastic even for the Centre. Broots backed up from the small window in the holding room and found a corner. He would plead ignorance of anything and everything. A simple lunch at Sydney's would explain his lost time and thwart their efforts. Slowly a sly smile creased Broots' lips as the lock on the door was being thrown.

_**Kowaris Cannery—Present  
**__**Anchorage, AK **_

Self-consciousness gripped Parker when she realized that she was alone in the room with Jarod, his father and sister. Without another word, she turned towards the door and quietly left. The major, not wanting to burden his already overwhelmed child with his sorrow and regret, abruptly followed Parker from the room.

"What are you going to do once you return to the other timeframe?" Emily asked quietly.

"What do you mean? We'll go on with our lives," Jarod replied.

"You may not be aware of this but you've hurt her pretty badly since you got here," Emily warned gently.

"_I've_ hurt her? She barely looks at me and her hair. Why did she have to butcher it like that?" he asked in confusion. His mind was beginning to race again.

"Jarod, it was a surprise for us to find out that you two had become lovers. Though in retrospect, Norwood is right. It was only natural. Now to hear that you were also living together, I'm not sure your relationship will survive the blows it went through here."

"It was only because of my own reticence that I didn't do what I had planned. The thrill and shock of her winning the competition, then finding out about the concertizing, assuming that she would leave me behind. Afterwards, in the hotel to find out that she wanted me with her. A few things got pushed aside but I always intended on giving it to her. I didn't forget," he said firmly, trying desperately to hang on to the thought.

"Forget what?"

"It's back home. I hid the ring thinking that after Dad came by, I would have a chance to show him how I planned on making a living—then tell him about us. We were kidnapped before I got the chance."

"A ring?" Emily asked in surprise.

"I've wanted to ask her for months but with all the practicing for the competition and then winning and everything that goes with it. I felt like I was on the outside watching her getting sucked into the vortex of her career. Hopefully, with the new design specs, my racing partner will understand. He already knows what I was preparing to do."

"You were going to propose?"

"Of course. Just being with her makes me feel good," he smiled at the warmth of the memory.

"Congratulations. In that case, you need to schlep yourself upstairs and start groveling now. She looked pretty raw a few minutes ago but it appears as if she's still crazy about you."

"What? Raw? Did she have an abrasion of some kind? Is she injured?"

"No. I meant that she's still angry with you. She may not have looked at you for sometime but on the other hand, you did shut her out and refused to even talk to her. Granted, she was acting like a spoiled brat but then I'm hoping that was due to the loss of the merge affecting her."

"But I wasn't the one…" Jarod began indignantly.

Shrugging impatiently, Emily said "It's not the point of who did what, when. You want this woman; you're going to have to tell her. On top of that, before going up there, you need to draw on your older self. Getting into another childish argument will just drive you two further apart."

"But she knows, she's the only one who understands. She listened to me when I knew it must've been boring her silly. Then she pointed out a flaw in my original design that actually forced me into rethinking the whole project. I was happy to stay by her side during the competition and I am more than willing to follow her around the world. She has to know how I feel."

"Again, not the point. We've all made assumptions about her. First because of where she worked, then because of your argument with her. The frog was a prime example of making a basic mistake with assumptions. Now you're assuming that everything will return to normal just because you'll be back in the other timeframe. Too many assumptions will leave you miserable in a timeline where there's no one else whom you can relate to. If you don't remember most of what I'm saying here, remember this: Grovel, apologize and check your pride at the door. The Centre kept you from having what you wanted most—a family. Don't let your pride and assumptions keep you from getting what you need—a family of your own."

Shaking his head as though to free himself from the cobwebs binding his reason; Jarod felt more than understood her logic. He recalled the hurt look on Parker's face just as she was leaving. He had some bridge building to do before they returned to the other reality. The last thing he wanted was to find himself outside of their apartment with a letter telling him to be gone by the time she returned.

Nodding to himself, Jarod got up and started for the door. His hand was touching the knob when he looked over his shoulder and gave his younger sister a grateful smile. He was almost out of the door when he heard her call out to him.

"Jarod, wait a second."

"Yeah, Em?"

"You said Parker won a competition that had something to do with her career. What was the competition about?"

"Classical piano. She won the top prize, several thousand dollars and the chance to play in select concert halls with the world's best orchestras for the next two years," Jarod replied. At his sister's incredulous stare, he smiled through a band of multiple thoughts trying to crowd into his mind. "All this from a woman whose main ambition is to join her mother's charity working as an attorney. I thought I knew her, but that one threw me too. Mr. Parker's interference in her life was more profound than I could've ever imagined." With that, Jarod gently closed the door and headed upstairs to Parker.

The room was dark—the way she liked it when the deteriorating merge began hurting. Her entire body felt like she was being assaulting by 20 baseball bat wielding munchkins bent on destruction. What she really needed was a loving cuddle but it seemed as if she had neatly alienated everyone around her. Curling up into a fetal ball, she allowed depression to overtake her emotions. A far distant voice in her mind chided her to have more control, not to let her emotions get the best of her. Those words meant nothing now—she was alone without a friend in sight. What she really wanted was her mother who was literally a lifetime away. She heard the light knock, then the click of the door but chose to ignore it. Finding a comfortable position where the pain wouldn't overwhelm her was priceless. Whoever came in could take what they wanted, just leave her alone.

Jarod slipped inside and allowed his eyes to adjust before moving away from the door. Looking around, he saw her curled up tightly on the bedspread. He couldn't stop the heavy sigh of relief and affection from escaping his lips. She was there and in his mind was looking very enticing as a human huggable. A soft smile formed on his lips as he approached, slipped out of his shoes and eased himself onto the bed with her. This is where he wanted to be more than anything else. With careful movements, he encircled her body with one arm while leaning on the other. Slowly he lowered his hand to her hair and began smoothing it. A relieved shudder ran the length of her body encouraging him to move even closer and to press his lips against her ear.

"I had to push you away. I didn't want you to see me like that. You're right, it was horrible. The breakdown of the merge is crowding a thousand thoughts into my head at once. It's like having my mind racing at 200mph without any let-up and red-lined all the way. This afternoon I realized that your presence does seem to ease the symptoms. The next step is to manage better control over my childish side," he whispered softly. When there was no reply he looked over into her face and noticed that her eyes were open but her body was extremely tense.

"Turn over so I can hold you better. I think that should help a bit. Just being here with you is clearing my head." When she didn't move immediately, Jarod knew his sister had been right. "Knowing that the frog is still in the other timeframe means that we can go back. Once we return, the merge will stabilize and everything will be back to a sort of normal. It's something to look forward to. Come on, sweetheart. Roll over and let me hold you. When the pain subsides, then you'll be able to appreciate my groveling to the fullest."

Slowly, Parker unwound her posture and turned over. He was right about one thing, the minute he came into the room, the symptoms began to ease. However, the only thing that would make her _consider_ taking him back was some very high quality groveling. He surprised her by threading his legs around hers and pulling her bodily as close as possible. Gently she touched his beard. It would have to go before they returned. Another surprise came from the pleasant aroma of his cologne, which his scruffy-looking clothes would've never suggested. Instead of pulling away, as was her original thought, she allowed him to cuddle her while whispering into her ear what she meant to him and his hopes that they could possibly pick up the pieces of their lives in the other timeline. He went on to explain some of the formulas he was working on and how one of them would mitigate the damage their absence may have caused.

Several hours later, Jarod woke up slightly disorientated. Heaving a mighty contented yawn, he was about to stretch when he realized something heavy was lying in his arms. Moving his hands slowly, he felt nothing but soft, warm skin. Turning his head, he breathed in deeply and got nothing but a pleasantly familiar scent—Maritza. He smiled sleepily as he kissed her head and then moved on to her shoulder.

"You still have a lot more groveling to do, buster," she said drowsily. With a complete lack of inhibition she stretched in his arms and then looked over at her man with contented possessiveness.

"Hey, I thought I was the only one with possessiveness issues," he said with a clearer voice.

"If I caught you kissing another woman, I wouldn't have chased her. I would've killed her on the spot. But then that's me, definitely not you." She treated him to a very predatory, toothy grin.

All Jarod could do was to frown slightly and shrug understandingly. Then looking into her eyes he asked, "I still want to come with you while you're on tour."

"Who says I'm going on tour? One thing this fiasco has taught me is that I need to stay as close to home as possible. Anything could happen, Jarod. I couldn't stand losing my mother again."

"Alright. It doesn't matter where you are as long as we're together. I promise I'll never shut you out again," he said solemnly.

Parker smiled sadly and pulled him closer. "I hate promises. People have broken them to me too many times. Just don't do it again," she paused for a second. Then looking into his eyes asked, "There's something I want you to do for me."

"What is it?" he asked quietly.

Parker explained in detail what she wanted and felt a rush of relief when she noted that there was no hesitation in his eyes when he agreed to help her. With a happy grin of anticipation, her serious mood suddenly shifted. "I want more groveling out of you, now!" she said with half-serious insistence. Jarod happily complied.

* * *

Preparations were busily underway to return the temporal travelers back to the place where their sanity and a small green tree frog awaited. Jarod went through the stack of formulas and selected a few, displaying them to Daniel. When Jarod explained what they were, Daniel quickly made his choice and watched with quiet understanding while Jarod burned all the rest except for two he kept for himself. With Emily and Daniel's help, all traces of his habitation were systematically erased from the room.

Parker's room wasn't in such as state that it took 3 people to clean and clear it completely. Actually, it took her a few hours to put her belongings into order and to erase hers and more recently Jarod's presence from the room. It took so long because the breakdown of the merge was continuing in vicious increments forcing her to stop several times to ride out the pain. During a moment of reprieve, she spotted her drooping younger brother. Walking up to him, she pulled Ethan to the side. The major looked curiously at the siblings while the younger, shorter Parker gave her older-looking and taller, little brother specific instructions. She handed Ethan a slip of paper and continued speaking to him urgently. Ethan listened intently, then turning to leave he had only progressed a few steps before abruptly returning to his sister and giving her a bone crushing hug. Ethan hung onto Parker for several minutes, burying his nose in her hair and trying to memorize the way she smelled and felt. Reluctantly, he released her and averting his eyes, he left.

A curious smile graced Parker's face while she stared at her brother's back. After Ethan packed an overnight bag and left the cannery on his mission, Parker approached Norwood. The scientist, like the rest of the family, watched a solemn Ethan leave in silence. He refused to answer their questions about his destination. As Parker approached, Norwood was ready to deal. There was plenty that he wanted to know and as usual, it was all about Parker's business.

"Where did you send Ethan?"

"I sent him to nunya. There's something I want you to do for me. It's very important."

"Nunya? What or where is it?"

"It means none ya business," she replied sharply. Whenever she had to deal with the wily scientist, it quickly became apparent that she always had to have plenty of cards to play.

"Then what you want, I will not do," Norwood stated firmly.

Parker gave her best predatory grin and said aloud to herself, "Why do they make it easier than shooting fish in a barrel?" Then to the scientist, "Norwood, you're not only going to do what I want, but your going to like it as well—guaranteed."

"You have a beautiful smile. How can you turn something so pleasant into a threat?"

"Shut up and listen, Harry Potter. I've got a proposition for you," she replied. Switching languages to make sure her meaning was clearly understood, Parker laid out her ideas quickly, sinking only once into a morass of pain while fighting to keep her mind and self together. By the end of their conversation, Norwood was invigorated and eager. It was only later that night when he realized that she never did tell him where she had sent Ethan.


	38. Returning Home

**_Disclaimer_**: Please see chapter 1 for the legal details.  
**_Author's Note_**: For those few still reading, let me extend my most sincere thanks! This and the next chapter require some attentiveness on the part of the reader. Because the story lines are being pulled together, I found it necessary to shift back and forth between time variants. For the most part, I do make note and separate the parts but for the fullness and continuity of the story,that's not always possible.

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 38**_

_**By Callisto**_

_**Kowaris Cannery—Present  
Anchorage, AK **_

Daniel watched solemnly as his father gave Jarod his final hug goodbye. The freshly groomed pretender had his boyish features uncovered by a close shave and haircut. It was unlikely that they would ever see him again in this timeframe but not impossible. With the brilliance exhibited in some of Jarod's equations, nothing was farfetched or completely out of the question. Next up was Emily who said a few words and hugged her brother with a fierce tenderness. Daniel brought up the rear and gave his 'brother' his word that he would look after them. Jarod nodded and hugged the boy who now looked like his twin. The previous day, the pretender made a point of spending quality time with each of them. It took away only a portion of the sting of saying goodbye.

While Jarod was saying goodbye to his family, Parker walked over to Norwood to bid him farewell. She was on her best behavior—polite and using his real name. Before leaving she grabbed the scrawnyscientist by the shoulders and pulled him awkwardly towards her. Whispering into his ear advice similar to what she had given Broots years earlier, she said, "If you wait too long, Emily will lose all interest. No woman likes a man who sits on the fence. Either make a move or move on." Taking his hand she pressed a key into his palm, smiled and nodded suggestively at him.

"Thank you. It has been a painful pleasure knowing you. I have learned much. Take care of yourself and your man."

Laughingly she replied, "I will."

Norwood watched as they both stepped onto the dais where the event horizon formed. Checking the calculations one more time, Norwood signaled for Emily and her father to move away from the machine.

Each person, except the travelers, put on protective eye goggles. So far twice through the event horizon had done nothing to their eyes. Norwood started the sequence. For the first time, Jarod saw the source of all the noise. The machine slowly came to life as the mechanism started to form an event horizon. The light began to build to a blinding intensity and within seconds, the two unlikely youths disappeared into time.

Once the machine began to power down and the light slowly dissipated, the major removed his protective eyewear and stared at the spot where Jarod and Parker had been. The only thing his son took with him was a design for a racecar, and the clothes on his back. Parker on the other hand took three items with her—presents for her deeply missed family.

"She didn't even wait for Ethan to return. I wonder what was so important that he had to miss this?" the major asked musingly.

"I think she said her goodbyes the day he left," Daniel offered slowly.

Norwood returned to his machine and began maintenance on the servers that held the complex computations it used to transport through time. Jarod was indeed a genius. Looking at the formula the pretender had handed him, all the scientist could do was shake his head in wonder. Jarod had written out some of the algorithms that took Norwood, using his computer, years to figure out. Jarod confessed that it took a little over 2 hours for him to come up with the viable equation. That was humbling.

_**Abernathy/Ferrer apartment—Past  
Lisbon, Portugal**_

Brilliant light flooded the apartment, deposited its cargo, and then winked out, folding in on itself. Nothing moved but an old-fashioned wall clock ticking out it's approximation of the passage of time—that and a tiny green, red and blue tree frog who was hanging out on a branch in his habitat. Several hours later though still very early in the morning a loud, frantic knocking rocked the front door and a few seconds later, the scraping of a key resounded in the lock and the door was flung open.

"Maritza? Jarod? Are you here? Baby?" Catherine's voice called from the entrance. Tentatively she stepped further into the dark apartment and began to look around curiously. Walking slowly through the living room, no fear or apprehension touched her heart. Continuing through the small apartment, Catherine shook her head in mild disapproval. She could understand their need to do things on their own but this apartment was far too tiny. Perhaps she would try again to talk Maritza into something more suitable—this place was more suggestive ofamarried couple rather than two horny kids who should soon tire of each other.

At the bedroom she paused, then taking a deep breath she opened the door to find the couple fully clothed and sleeping soundly. 'The major isn't going to like this one bit,' she thought quietly to herself. Slipping further into the room, Catherine went over to her daughter's side of the bed and caressed the girl's shoulder. Usually that did the trick but this time there was no response. Frowning slightly, Catherine glanced at Mari's chest to be reassured that the girl was breathing normally just deeply asleep. She was about to tell the major what was going on when Ethan burst into the room.

"Mari, can I feed Horatio? He looks hungry," the boy asked in a loud voice.

"Ethan, she's sleeping, lower your voice," Catherine advised gently, hoping secretly that the boy woke his sister but to no avail. Immediately following the little boy, the major walked up to the bedroom doorway and looked at the two on the bed.

"Jarod! Wake up, son. What time did you two get in last night?" Jarod was obliviousto his father's question as he continued to sleep peacefully. The major said to Catherine, "They must've really enjoyed themselves, they're still fully dressed. Where's the other bedroom?"

"Trevor, stop being a prude! They sleep together here."

"And you're okay with this? You're daughter can't be more than 17!"

"She's 18 and of age. Besides, she just won a prestigious competition that will have her traveling the world, showcasing her talent," Catherine replied full of pride, while securely tucking a lock of Mari's hair away from her face. "She's very mature for her age. Anyway, it's the '70's, kids grow up faster nowadays."

"Momma, it's the 80's now," Ethan chimed in helpfully as he sat nonchalantly at the foot of the bed.

"Thank you, dear. Call your father and let him know that we've found them, he'll be worried. I knew they were close by, they must've gotten caught up in traffic somewhere." Spying the packages in Maritza's hands, Catherine eased one free and smiled indulgently at her daughter. "My kid goes shopping at the drop of a hat."

"Must be genetic," the major shot back quickly, charmed by the sudden irritation that sprang up on Catherine's face. "You know, since Ethan's gone and they're dead to the world," he said nodding to the two unconscious lovers. "I think we should have a quick chat about our attitudes towards each other. I take it from the clueless look on Ben's face that you were about as forthcoming with him as I've been with Margaret."

Catherine closed her eyes to mask her growing irritation and fear—irritation that he brought this up and fear that he even mentioned it. "No. Of course, I haven't."

"Then let's agree to be mutually civil. I'm not looking to make your life miserable and I don't want that for myself. And from the looks of these two, we're going to be seeing a lot more of each other than we ever intended. But if we keep up this aversion for each other, both our spouses will start asking questions."

Catherine looked away from him and back at her sleeping daughter. For once he was saying something she could agree on. The soft soothing voice of Catherine's mother seconded the motion, adding that the lovers were far more mature and in love than Catherine would allow herself to imagine.

"Alright, I'll make an effort if you will. Why you think it's so amusing to purposely find ways to irritate me is a mystery."

The urge to go to her came up suddenly and fast. Fortunately, he half expected it and neatly shut it off from his mind. Maybe in another life, he would have a chance to explore a relationship with her but definitely not in this one. Margaret and the kids meant too much to him.

"I'll restrain myself from sticking pins in you for my amusement," he replied sarcastically. At Catherine's sharp look, he gave her a smirk that rivaled Jarod's and said, "Has anyone ever told you that you're even more beautiful when you're angry?" Shaking his head in bemusement, he held his hands up and said, "That one was my swan song." He then walked out of the room as Ethan re-entered.

"Momma, Daddy wants to know if Mari and Jarod are going to have dinner with his father or with us?"

"Tell him with Jarod's father," Catherine answered quietly. She sat down on a nearby chair and stared at Mari. Quietly giving herself some time to think things thorough, she considered the major's words. Actually, Ben had told her the same thing. Recently, he had been trying to irritate her just to elicit a particular expression she was unaware came on her face. In fact, she noticed that Jarod would often use his father's tactics to get a similar result from Mari. Afterwards he would laugh delightedly then smoother her in affection. The correlation between children and parents was uncomfortably close. Like the major, Catherine silently decided that she would never again place herself in a position that would jeopardize her marriage. She and Ben just managed to get together and live like normal people despite Leith's threats. Ben meant more to her than anything in the world save her children and the last thing she wanted was for him to start to question her loyalty.

As Jarod and Norwood suspected, Time had healed the breach made when the temporal paradox of their return caused so much disruption. In this timeframe, almost everything that had occurred after the major and Catherine's first visit to the empty apartment was neatly erased and placed in the realm of possibilities. In his super-genius state, Jarod was able to figure out the correct sequence of algorithms that would send him and Parker back to the day following their abduction by Ethan. Therefore, Catherine's worry lasted only half the night when she was awakened abruptly by the voices with the announcement that Mari had returned and was at the apartment with Jarod. Eight-year old Ethan smiled tiredly and fell immediately into a deep sleep when he received the same message. The confrontation that the major had witnessed between Ben and his destructively corrupt brother, Leith Parker never occurred and Trevor was never pressured into admitting his momentary loss of good sense to his new friend. Ben's suspicions were quickly assuaged by the subtle change in Catherine and the major's behavior towards each other and by his wife's pleasantly distracting affections.

_**Kowaris Cannery—Present  
Anchorage, AK **_

Several days had passed since Jarod and Parker were whisked back to the variant timeframe. As agreed, Jarod turned on the radio and reported that they had arrived safe, sound and on the day he had arranged. When the major asked how he had taken them shacking up, Jarod laughed appreciatively.

"We had a nice long talk. You think we're too young to be living together. Actually you sounded a lot like Emily on that point but with the upcoming trip, it was a moot point. You liked the thought of an 18 year old Parker traveling around the world alone even less. I think secretly you're becoming quite fond of her," Jarod said with half-smirk.

The whole story was that his father wanted them to return to America, for Jarod to get a real job there and to make an honest woman out of Mari. He still didn't like the sound of the trip they had planned but was modestly relieved when Jarod told him of his intentions of proposing to Mari. Most of the major's apprehensions were placed asidewhen he had a chance to witness a verbal brawl between mother and daughter when Mari announced her plans to forfeit her grand prize in favor of clerking for a judge friend of her mother's. Catherine would hear nothing of it and her argument was originally so mild that all the men watching from the sidelines thought she would lose. They thought wrong. While Mari had inherited a great deal from her mother, Catherine was extremely strong willed and when angry—formidable. Jarod watched with admiring fascination as the two beautiful women, made even more so by their emotions, verbally sparred. Mari's frustrated irritation added color to her complexion and her eyes flashed brightly with exasperation. Jarod was smitten all over again and from the gentle pat on his shoulder from the major, he too agreed that the daughter had the edge over the mother when it came to beauty. If Parker had ever caved into her father, in the face of Catherine's outright disapproval her resolve disintegrated into an irate puff. The two years of piano concertizing was back on without a hitch.

"Son, please keep in touch. I can't help but worry about you," the major said.

"We'll be alright but don't worry I'll keep in contact."

Once the connection was severed there was a sense and feeling of loss permeating the room. Emily put her arm around her father's shoulders and touched his forehead with her own. The room was quiet when slowly the sound of someone approaching greeted them. Father and daughter simultaneously turned towards the source of the sounds. Slowly Ethan approached looking tired but excited. When he spotted his father and Emily a brilliant smile instantly lit up his features.

"I have something to tell you. Actually it was my sister Parker's idea. She insisted on it," Ethan announced, barely able to contain himself. "She understands what it's like losing someone you love. So she sent me out to try and alleviate your pain." Glancing backwards, he beckoned with his hand for someone to come out. "That's all I wanted to say. It's about time you were home," Ethan said to the person just out of sight.

Slowly tentative footsteps came forward and then slowlya shape emerged from the shadows. Emily drew in her breath sharply while the major and Daniel continued to stare curiously. Before the person was fully revealed, Emily suddenly rushed forward with tears in her eyes.

"Mom! Oh my God, Mom, it's you! You're here. We've finally found you," Emily said in a rush of heartfelt tears, engulfing her mother in a lovingly smothering hug.

"Emily! I've been searching so long—so very long!"

"Margaret?" the major asked, his mind went blank for several seconds. He was afraid this was just a dream. His depression over losing Jarod had taken over his senses and somehow conjured up this lovely apparition.

With her arm still encircling her daughter, Margaret stepped further into the light, which revealed her pale complexion, bright red hair and slight figure. Her eyes latched onto her husband like a magnet.

"Trevor? My God, please don't let this be a hallucination. I've dreamed this so many times. Please Trevor," she choked between her tears and swelling emotion.

The major wasted no more time staring at his long missing wife. He rushed forward and took her into his arms for the first time in three decades. His grip on her was insufficient to satisfy his need, so he gathered her closer and buried his head in her neck and hair. Emily backed off to let her father have her to himself for a few minutes. Looking around, she spotted Daniel and beckoned him over as well. Reluctantly, Jarod's clone came forward and watched as his 'parents' hugged, kissed and cried on each other.

"Trevor, where's Jarod?" she asked in a rush. Her eyes eagerly searching her husband's for any update. The pained sorrow in his face warned her of a bad news.

Not knowing where to start regarding the where and when their oldest son actually was, the major looked into his wife's worried eyes and asked, "Do you know about Kyle?"

Margaret's eyes closed slowly as she nodded in her sorrow. "Harriet Tashman got word to me about what happened. There wasn't anything Jarod could've done to save him. Not with the Centre hard on his heels."

Overwhelmed anew over finally having his wife in his arms, Major Charles refastened his grip around her body and squeezed gratefully. "My Love, let me first tell you that Jarod is alive and well. There's only one very large problem. Come over here and have a seat. This explanation is going to take some time." Never releasing his grip fully, he led his wife over to the room previously occupied by Jarod. As they were walking by, he paused when he spotted Daniel. Margaret saw the young man and frowned thoughtfully. He was the vision of Trevor at that age.

"This is Daniel. He's a part of our family. His story will take some telling as well."

Emily followed in her parents wake and paused by Daniel. "Aren't you coming in with us?"

"Yeah, I'll be there. Norwood has some coffee brewing. I'll bring that in a sec," he replied quietly. Yeah, his story took some telling alright. He hadn't believed Jarod when he first explained it.

When the door closed behind them, Daniel turned to find Ethan smiling sadly at the fractured family. The major hadn't mentioned him at all but he guessed that Margaret could only take so many strange twists in one day. Ethan hadn't said anything about his relationship to her family, except that he was a friend of Jarod's. Maritza's intuition was accurate to the finest detail. The doubling of her ability to understand and hear the voices provided her with actual map coordinates of where he could find Margaret and within minutes of arriving, he spotted her bright red hair. The voices in his head told him what to say to gain her trust—just as his sister told him they would.

Ethan looked over atDaniel who was staring at him with pained understanding and asked a touch plaintively, "Did they already leave? Is my sister gone?"

"Yes she is now in the past with Jarod. Are you alright?"

"No. I don't think I ever will be again. Thanks, Daniel." Ethan walked slowly away and upstairs to Maritza's old room.

"Norwood, are we still on? Did you get the footlocker?"

Transformed from his empathetic sorrow for Ethan, Norwood looked over at Daniel with a large conspiratorial grin. "Yes. I got it while your father and sister were preoccupied in talking to Jarod. It's over here." He led Daniel to an unused spot near the massive time machine.

Daniel looked at the locker and taking the key from Norwood, he opened it up to get a good look at its contents. Quickly rifling through the numerous items inside, he was soon as exited as Norwood.

"It looks like everything is there and then some. We should leave in a few days."

"Are you sure? Your mother just got here," Norwood replied quickly.

"It'll take her some time to warm up to me. After all, I'm just a replica of the real thing. I can't replace him. I can only be me," Daniel said evenly. He had sorted through his personal situation in his mind while running from the Centre with his father.

"Okay. But I'll still need your help with the other thing," Norwood replied firmly.

"Don't worry. I'll be there for you. When do you want to do it?"

"Just before we leave," came the quick reply.

"Perfect."


	39. Life goes on

**_Disclaimer:_** Please go all the way back to Chapter 1 for the usual statements.  
**_Author's note:_** To all those who read and reviewed this tale all the way to the end, I would like to extend my most sincere thanks. Those reviews kept me posting. This chapter is the finale to this very, very long story. I didn't intend it being this long. My wish was to entertain while still getting some of the ideas I had for this story written down. And while I could go on and on with this yarn, I believe this is a good place to leave it.

_**Time to Consider  
**__**Chapter 39**_

_**By Callisto  
**_

Carrying such a burden was trying but the reward that waited was well worth the effort. With a heavy heart, he gently let go and stepped back. His heart sank in his chest and he found it necessary to shut his mind to the ultimate outcome but he knew this was best. A heavy sigh seeped from deep inside his body, from the very marrow of his bones as he swallowed the lump in his throat with some difficulty and then turned to face his future.

_**Ferrer Villa – Past  
**_**_Mar de Azul, Portugal _**

The laughter of children echoed cheerfully throughout the spacious home. Punctuating the children's voices were those of adults chatting amiably. The noise they created clearly sounded like a group of people enjoying the beautiful day and each other's company.

Catherine was about to walk out on the veranda to join her husband and daughter, when suddenly she hung back to watch them. The two had grown very close and attached to one another as Catherine watched Maritza laugh at something her father said. Many years had passed since her daughter had been forced to explain the letter Anna had handed over on the day she and Jarod had gone missing, but for Catherine those revelations would stay with her forever.

_**Ferrer Villa – Past  
**__**Several days after the return**_

At first she didn't, couldn't believe what she was being told. According to their account, two weeks ago, both Mari and Jarod had jumped forward through time, into a completely different reality—a reality where they both originally belonged. Then Mari began to supply tiny details about her life at the Centre. Catherine discovered the devil in those details because the depth of her daughter's knowledge of the inner workings of the corporation was impossible for her to know without having ever been there. It was a place where Catherine had studiously kept her daughter's exposure to a minimum. Private tutors, boarding school along with piano and dancing lessons had been carefully scheduled and arranged to keep her inquisitive daughter out of harms' way. Apparently in the other reality, she hadn't taken such elaborate steps to keep her little girl out of the Centre. To maintain her sanity, Catherine dug in her heels and refused to believe a word of it. That's when Jarod walked up and handed Mari 3 small shiny discs, explaining that someone named Angelo had given them to him in the 'variant timeframe', as he put it.

Staring at the discs, Catherine was again shocked. The innocuous discs were an integral part of a brand new technology that Ben told her the Centre had a hand in creating. Large amounts of data could be stored on the tiny discs instead of bulky, expendable tape. How the two got their hands on such discs was a mystery but they were physical evidence of their assertions. Giving his fiancé a melancholy glance, Jarod told her that he didn't have a chance to view the discs; just that he trusted the person who had given them to him. Mari looked at her future husband and gently took them from his hand.

"Momma, do you have a DSA player?"

The impact of the discs was extreme. She was given the rare opportunity of witnessing the result of Angelo's genius. He had found a technique that would allow him to append pieces of several DSA's onto one. Catherine watched as a shot rang out and listened as her daughter's anguished screams pierced her soul. The devastation on Mari's face was crushing but the first part of the DSA was also horrific. There in the Centre was Sydney, Jacob's twin brother, actively participating in the Pretender project. How such a sensitive and kind person could ever be associated with something so atrocious was troubling. The date on the DSA created an immovable lump in her throat. The only thing off was the year, otherwise everything was frighteningly similar. It was the same month and day she had decided on but had been talked out of by none other than Sydney. The Catherine on the DSA was different, confused, trapped and obviously not thinking clearly. The parallels were too close for comfort.

Parker watched the various emotions of pain, anger and heartbreak play across her mother's face. Once the DSA ended with the scene of a sweeper restraining her 11 year-old self from going to her stricken mother, Parker ejected the disc. In a steady and what she thought was a neutral voice, Parker explained that the entire scene had been a hoax but that most of her life she believed this was the way her mother had died. It was only a few years ago when she discovered the truth about her death from another DSA that was found a Raines' forest house.

Catherine accepted the anger in Mari's voice. It answered a number of questions that had recently begun to concern her. "You're angry." At the surprised look on her daughter's face, Catherine shrugged sadly and continued, "You have every right to be. Even though for the me _here_, I wasn't yet pregnant with Ethan, the plan you saw…er experienced, was the same I had been talked out of by Sydney. What I explained to you back at Lake Catherine is the truth. Everything that DSA shows is like watching my worst nightmare being played out.

"Oh, Baby, there's nothing I can do to take away the pain I caused you with that farce of a plan I came up with. One good thing is actually seeing it. You see, I've been torturing myself about Ethan. I was beginning to lament dedicating so much time and effort into preventing the Pretender project from ever happening. This shows that I was right and that Ethan is just what he is—a gift, as are _all_ my children."

"I've lain awake many nights wondering why you would ever trust Raines? He was the one who beat you that Thanksgiving, not Daddy."

"I allowed that creep to _hit_ me?" Catherine asked horrified.

With a half laugh, Parker nodded and answered, "Yes. You were diagnosed as manic/depressive and he was trying to control you."

"My God. It's easy to believe Leith hitting me, he had the temper but I wouldn't ever let Raines near me with a 10 foot pole."

"Then I guess I should skip the part where he tried to claim that he was my real father."

Catherine's stunned expression caused Parker to laugh appreciatively. He told me and Lyle that he was our real father. As twisted as Lyle is, I don't believe he was buying into that fiction any more than I."

"Who's Lyle?"

Her answer was a long thoughtful smile, which Catherine playfully tried to shake by grabbing another DSA. The next disc showed the adult Parker threatening Raines while he stood behind bars inside the Centre. The disc ended with Mr. Parker shooting Raines in the back before he could say too much. After that viewing and Parker's subsequent explanation, Catherine asked for some time alone. In solitude, she broke down into racking, anguished tears which brought Mari running back to her. Together they held each other, crying and thanking providence for the second chance.

_**Ferrer Villa – Past  
**__**Mar de Azul, Portugal **_

A loud, childish shriek stirred Catherine out of her reverie. She still hadn't watched the third DSA and wasn't sure if she ever could. Turning to the source of the noise, Catherine laughed aloud. Jarod had one child draped over his shoulders and the other in his lap loudly enjoying a tickle.

Shaking her head at Jarod's indulgence with his own children, Catherine joined the others on the veranda carrying an icy carafe of sangria. "Maritza, I'm not sure who's having the most fun, Jarod or the kids."

"You should've seen them with the major, talk about a big kid," Parker answered amiably.

"I take it you're the disciplinarian?" Ben asked curiously.

"Both of us are, but yeah, I usually wear the bad guy hat. He was the one who insisted on having them, so enjoying them should come with the territory."

"I thought you wanted children," Ben said a bit surprised.

"I wanted Jarod. Anything else was gravy, including those monsters I call my children," she said with a smile.

"I heard that," Jarod said carrying a protesting toddler with a slightly older little girl following closely.

Parker turned to Jarod and smiled at her husband. The love between them was evident in their eyes. Ben watched them closely as Jarod finally released the little boy who made a beeline for his mother.

"Momma!" he shouted smiling happily.

"Mathieu! How's Momma's big man?" she asked lovingly as she placed him in her lap. Both her parents watched her face and saw the unvarnished love she was showering on her son.

Jarod sat down wearily and helped himself to Catherine's glass of sangria, gently slapping his daughter's inquisitive hands away. Though not really thirsty, she shot her father a disapproving glare, then turned to her mother.

"Mommy, why do you call me a monster?"

"Because you act just like I did when I was your age. Isn't that right, Momma?"

"Nonsense, you were a very sweet-tempered child. Elaine is more like me, high spirited and adventurous," Catherine answered.

"Momma didn't know all the sneaky stuff I did, Baby. You on the other hand, I keep my eye on," Parker replied with a large grin. Noticing Jarod's genuine fatigue she said, "Come here, Lainey. Let's give Daddy a breather."

Eagerly, the obscenely intelligent 4 year old jumped off her father's lap and ran over to her mother. Daddy was fantastic but nothing could compare to her mother's cuddles. Ben caught Catherine's eye and smiled. For all their daughter's protests, she was as crazy about her children as Jarod. The hug young Lainey got from her mother made Jarod long for one as well—fatigue kept him still.

Feeling quite blessed, Catherine leaned back in her seat after refreshing her drained glass. Staring at her daughter while she doted on her children, Catherine got up suddenly and took Mathieu into her arms and sat back down, looking into the little boy's inherited features. It was pure conceit but at least the DSA was very accurate. Her little girl did grow up to look just like her.

_**The Centre – Past  
**__**Blue Cove, DE**_

Sydney sat at his desk and placed several DSA's in an envelope. Turning over the padded package, he addressed it to the Triumvirate satellite office in France as instructed. He hoped that somehow these would reach Catherine. It wasn't right that she was being denied access to her son. Mason was a strapping, handsome young man. Intelligent and thoughtful as Mason was, Sydney couldn't help but disapprove of Mr. Parker's handling of his "son". Often Mason asked after his mother but was stonewalled. The poor fellow didn't even know he had a twin because Sydney wasn't allowed to tell him. Hopefully, Mason's curiosity would spur him into searching for his mother on his own.

Sydney didn't have anything to worry about on that account. Mason stood in the shadows across the wide sim room watching Sydney mail his quarterly supply of DSA's. Mason was able to get his hands on one of the DSA's from last quarter's collection and found it was all about him. He was convinced that Sydney was sending them off to his mother. In his mind, the soft voice he told no one about said so as well. This time he would memorize the address his mentor was sending them to, find his mother….and kill her. Damon was right; no mother should abandon her child in favor of another. Mason was already aware that he had a sister and if he got his hands on her, he would make sure she knew a measure of the pain and loneliness he had lived with all his life.

_**The Centre – Present  
**__**Blue Cove, DE**_

It was dark outside and nothing moved. Waiting till dark was the only way. Despite what he had to do to get here, this is the result that he truly wanted. Parker gave him all the accoutrements to carry out this mission without any further supplies. The burden still weighed on his heart and though he never had the chance to tell her properly—he would miss her. There was some movement at the edge of his field of vision which caused him to hunker down and pick up his binoculars. A pair of sweepers was patrolling the vineyard. This must be a part of their usual rounds because judging from the casualness of their demeanor, a white elephant could stroll across the field, steal several bushels of grapes and nonchalantly saunter away without being spotted.

Well, the rescue attempt Parker was so secretive about would still happen. The captive toddler was about to experience the thrill of a prison break. The very thought of it excited him. What he dreaded was the prospect of seeing Mr. Raines again. That was the reason for his unlikely partner. Between the two of them the Centre would salivate over the prospect of so much profitable intelligence working together. He smiled at the thought because this time his need for a family and approval was no longer an issue.

_**Ferrer Villa – Past  
**__**Mar de Azul, Portugal**_

The sounds of voices chattering happily came from his window. Slowly sitting up, he shuffled out of bed like a kid who had too much to drink and wasn't used to it. Holding a hand up to his forehead, he was determined to find the source of the noise. Looking out almost brought him to his knees. The sun was insidiously bright as if it wouldn't allow anyone to wallow in the dark.

Looking down, he hadn't realized that he had lost so much weight. Missing his sister was having its effects but he didn't care. Throwing on a pair of jeans over his boxer shorts, Ethan made his way downstairs. He thought he had heard her voice but he wanted to make sure it was her and not just a dream.

Extreme vertigo hit him hard causing him to pause and sway at the base of the stairs. Breathing deeply, Ethan with slow and determined steps shuffled his way towards the veranda. Again at the doorway, he paused to gather his wits and to take several stomach calming breaths. Almost immediately, very young, excited voices responded to his appearance but were quickly hushed by another voice—his sister.

All the adults at the patio table turned towards the sight that created such jubilation in the children. Poor Ethan, who had been in bed with the flu had gotten up to see what all the racket was about. Parker allowed Lainey off her lap to open the door for her beloved Uncle. It had been over a year since the little girl saw her Uncle and she missed him terribly. Lainey doted on Ethan and would follow him around ceaselessly until her parents forced her to sit still.

Ethan shuffled across the threshold to suddenly find that he could no longer walk. A small body impeded his progress as her tiny arms tried to encircle his waist. The little girl pressed her cheek to her Uncle's thigh. Looking down into the little girl's concerned face; Ethan was warmed by her anxious expression. "How are you feeling?" she whispered up to him.

Breathing deeply, he replied, "Dizzy and confused. Who are you?"

The adults at the table laughed indulgently at his question, Ethan was in the habit of playing games with his quick-witted niece. Lainey looked up and answered solemnly, "I'm Elaine, your niece but you always call me Brat."

"My niece?" Ethan replied in a complete state of confusion. Looking up, he spotted his sister and stared hard at her face. Like a jack-in-the-box, Jarod jumped up to free Ethan from his niece and to offer his chair to the sick teenager.

"Jarod? What's going on?" he asked quietly. Even Jarod looked different, older than before but still basically the same. Jarod was busy detaching his daughter from Ethan's legs, so it took him a second to catch on to what was happening.

Ethan's eyes next landed on his sister, only she was quite a bit older than Jarod. She still looked the same but there was an attractive streak of gray in her hair and the expression in her eyes was different. Frowning thoughtfully, Ethan wondered why she was wearing blue contact lenses. Finally he spotted a younger version of Parker, who smiled knowingly at him and said, "Hi, Stranger. Miss me?"

Still confused, Ethan tilted his head to one side and then slid his eyes back over to the older version of Parker who was openly staring at him now—but in a matronly way. "I don't care how much you miss her, Ethan. I swear if you catch pneumonia from coming out here half dressed, I'll kill you before it does."

Widening his eyes, he looked to Parker for confirmation. With a barely perceptible nod, she gave him what he was looking for. Closing his eyes for a moment, Ethan looked over at his mother and said to the woman he had heard in his head all his life, "Momma?"

"Good guess," she retorted tartly. "Now, get back in bed!"

Ethan looked at her with bemused enchantment and then looked over at his sister who had quickly got up from her seat and turned him around before he could sit down in Jarod's chair.

"Come on little brother,I tuck you in like I used to when you were little."

In a soft voice he asked, "Do you think I could….?" There was a plaintive look in his face that she could never resist.

With a large indulgent smile, she whispered back, "Go ahead but if you value your life, make it brief. And while you're at it, wave at the old guy who was sitting next to me."

Ethan squinted at her instructions and stepping around her and behind his mother's chair, he bent low and wrapping his arms around her shoulders he hugged her tenderly. With his head bowed, Ethan pressed his cheek against his mother's. "I love you, Mom."

Catherine looked quizzically at her husband but she accepted her usually taciturn son's embrace. The heat from Ethan's cheek worried her as she raised her hand and gently ruffled his longish hair. She was about to say something to him when he lifted his head and received a sloppy kiss from his toddler nephew.

"Hi!" came the child's enthusiastic greeting.

"Hey there, kiddo."

Straightening up, Ethan really felt terrible. With a slow shuffle he made his way over to Parker, remembering the stories of her life in this timeframe, he waved at Ben. "Hi Poppi, I would stay but I think Momma would kill me."

"You don't look so hot. I'll come up later and give you a recap of the football match," Ben said with light concern.

Parker looked at Jarod and surprising him, she pulled him close and kissed him fiercely. Before releasing him she whispered her thanks to him. Jarod smiled and sneaked in another kiss.

"I'm glad I could help. There'll be a void," he murmured softly in Japanese.

"I know. Our Ethan's appearance means they should be on their way to rescue my nephew. Perhaps he'll help withthe healing." With that whispered exchange, Parker wrapped a steadying arm around Ethan and guided him slowly back towards his room. There was a lot to explain even though he had asked her so many questions about her experiences back at the cannery. Fortunately he remembered what she called their father here.

"Where are we?" Ethan asked the second they were alone.

"Eight years have passed since you last saw us. I asked Jarod to arrange it and I bribed Norwood and Daniel to send you."

"They kidnapped me?"

Shooting her brother a cynical look, she replied smartly, "Yeah, 10 yards from your bedroom to the machine."

"But you've been gone for less than a week. How could eight years have gone by?" Ethan asked through a mask of confusion.

"We're talking about time travel. We could've sent you back at any point we wanted since Jarod designed a new temporal beacon. I chose eight years because I doubted you would want to come back with us to be an eight-year old boy again and 16 is a good age to start over again. I know from experience."

"You were eighteen when you came back," Ethan fired back.

"And I was still a little ticked off that you kidnapped us to begin with. Consider this very mild payback. There is so much I need to tell you. Things that you need to know because it takes a while before the merge kicks in. Are you feeling up to it?"

"Are you still a concert pianist?" he asked with a Jarod-like smirk.

A soft gasp of surprise widened her amused eyes. "So you didn't believe that I would get my way, eh?"

"You're a lot like her. So I knew it would be hard denying her," Ethan replied enjoying the warmth that emanated freely from his sister.

Nodding cynically she replied, "Two years of going from one orchestra to the next symphony hall. Jarod had his hands full keeping me from shooting someone but we got through it. Then two years living in England as a pianist was all I could stand. I've been an attorney for the past 3 years. We just returned from America after living there for about a year." At Ethan's inquisitive frown she continued, "Jarod brought back one of those brainiac formulas he was working on. Turns out it was some automotive improvement that he literally invented. He's a millionaire several times over so we don't need my salary but I want to be closer to Momma."

Ethan was quiet while he sat down on his rumpled bed. He wondered what he was going to do here. With Maritza busy with her life, he felt at loose ends, not sure what was expected of him.

"Why did you bring _me_ here? You already had the other version of me."

Parker smiled and said with a face brimming with affection, "Blame yourself, somehow you got me to like you. Maybe it was your sparkling personality but I do know it had absolutely nothing to do with that excuse of a bed your so fond of. In some ways, you're far too much like Jarod! When you're better, I insist on us shopping for a new one."

Ethan laughed remembering that he had once said that to her. With the sincerity of simplicity he said, "Thank you. And yeah, I missed you."

"You really do look all in, get some rest." Ethan basked in his sister's care as she straightened the covers over him and lightly caressed his warm forehead. He would be up and about in the morning, full of questions.

Before opening the door, Parker said with quiet finality, "You're home now, where you belong."

Jarod met her at the foot of the stairs with an inquisitive lift of his eyebrows. "How did he take it?"

"Dazed but that doesn't matter. I don't leave my little brother anywhere," she said tightly.

"What about Lyle?"

A shadow of the old grief stole into her eyes for a brief minute. "He's out there, different but still Lyle."

Jarod understood her and nodded solemnly. The merge still enhanced his intelligence as his mind effortlessly thought of the ramifications and several possibilities. Without pause he replied, "This timeframe is only slightly different than what we're used to. Catherine will need protection. Lyle is too bent and destructive not to try something."

"I know you wanted us to stay near your family," she replied by way of an apology.

"You're my wife and you're worried. I already have my spies in place keeping an eye on him. I have some ideas on how to keep him better contained."

Parker nodded thoughtfully and casting him a puzzled smile, she led the way into the kitchen to start dinner. Jarod followed returning her smile behind her back. Yeah, even after eight years, he still liked calling her his wife.

**_The Centre - Present  
_**_**Blue Cove, DE**_

Daniel checked one last time through his field glasses. The sweepers were as predictable as waves. The only lousy part was that Ethan wasn't with them. Drugging and then carrying Ethan's unconscious body over to the time machine was the most difficult thing he ever had to do. More than with Emily and father, Daniel was closest to Ethan who was also an odd man out. The tortured psychic had been his best friend and Daniel already missed him terribly. He couldn't help but see the misery in his brother's eyes. Somehow, he had forged a lasting bond with his extremely odd sister.

Glancing over at his excited companion, he asked quietly, "Are you sure you want to go _in_ with me?"

"Is there some other genius around here that worked out a solution to the DNA-ident scanner?" Norwood asked in his thick accent. Instead of sounding arrogantly sarcastic, his giddy excitement made him sound positively happy.

"Well, take this as one genius to another: get a hold of yourself. Parker's imitation of Edgar Casey was amazing but there's still plenty of room for the unexpected to creep in even the best laid plans. Stay alert." Without another word, Daniel crawled quickly towards the first marker. So far, even in the smallest details, Daniel found that this plan was much like the mission she had sent Ethan on to find Margaret—flawless. Soon Norwood followed and they were on their way to a carefully prepared adventure and a turning point in both their lives.

**_Fin_**


End file.
